


No Accounting For Taste

by kethni



Series: Bad Things [3]
Category: Veep
Genre: F/M, Hate Sex, Morning After, Sleepy Sex, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:10:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sleeping with someone on staff wasn't quite as convenient as Selina was hoping for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Not even friends. Who fucked their friends? Morons, that’s who. Selina sure as hell hadn’t been friends with Andrew, even when things were going well. Not that things had gone well very often. Ted, ditto. With a side order of “what a drip.” Ray was too goddamn stupid to have a conversation with let alone anything more complex. God he was dumb. At least Kent wasn’t dumb. Not that it was the same thing. It wasn’t.

‘Hey, Sue,’ she asked, as the younger woman turned towards the door. ‘You ever get friendly with your boyfriends? Is that a thing, expecting your boyfriend to be your friend?’

Sue looked at her. ‘Not often.’

‘But you’ve done it.’

‘Yes.’ Sue gripped her tablet tightly. ‘The friendship never survives the end of the relationship.’

‘Ha!’ Selina sat back. ‘God, the only one of my exes I don’t despise is Ray, and that’s because he was so freaking stupid he was more like a pet.’

Sue tapped her stylus against the edge of the tablet. ‘My most recent lover wished to be friends. There were pros and cons. I can neither commend nor censure it.’

Selina threw herself back in her chair. ‘I’m not actually dating. Not as such.’

‘I see.’ Sue narrowed her eyes very slightly.

Selina waved her hand easily. ‘I have a sort of sex-only thing.’

‘Hmm. Benefits without friends.’ Sue swivelled on her heel. ‘Of course a friend is very unlikely to leak the story of your meaningless sex to the press,’ she said, and strolled from the room.

Selina blew out her cheeks. ‘Good talk, Sue,’ she said to the air ‘Some days I miss Amy.’

What would Amy have said? She’d have looked disgusted, that was sure. Some days Selina suspected that the younger woman still believed that men had cooties. She’d fucked Dan though. If ever there was a reason to think nobody liked sex, then screwing Dan was probably it. Definitely too self-absorbed for good sex. Jonah, _urgh_. She’d give good money that he’d never got further than first base. Mike… might be okay, if you got him a haircut and some decent clothes. And let him stop for a snack half way through. Ben would probably fall asleep, or have a freaking heart attack.

***

‘I’m afraid to ask,' Catherine said over a typically rushed breakfast.

‘Well ya know the easy answer to that.’ Selina sipped her coffee. ‘Don’t ask.’

‘Mom, seriously, I don’t want to know _who_ you’re dating –’

 Selina rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t have time to date.’

‘Oh God.’ Catherine covered her eyes. ‘It’s even worse than I thought. Mom please just… be discreet.’

Selina scowled at her. ‘I am the motherfucking queen of discretion.’

Catherine stood up. ‘As perfectly demonstrated by that statement.’

***

Kent looked harassed. She could see him through the open office door. Jesus, he better not be losing the plot on her as well. She’d already lost Dan and, worse, Amy. Dan, well, Selina wasn’t an idiot. Dan was a shit. That was the whole fucking point. She’d never liked him and she’d never trusted him. He’d always had one foot out of the door. He was bright, sure, but Washington was full of bright young things with more suits than scruples. Amy though, Amy had been with Selina almost as long as Mike. She and Amy had been a team. She _liked_ Amy, damn it, and she thought that Amy had felt the same. Christ knew that she couldn’t confide in Sue. Just the thought of trying to open up to that unblinking, cold gaze… She didn’t have that kind of relationship with Catherine. Selina knew fair and square where the blame for that one lay: with her mom. How was Selina supposed to know how to craft that kind of bond without her mom teaching her?

Selina walked into Kent’s office. He was sat on his desk: tie loose, shirt sleeves rolled up, telephone crushed to his ear. But he wasn’t talking. It took him a moment to register her presence. When he did, he straightened up.

‘I’ll have to call you back,’ he said flatly, and slammed down the phone.

‘Hope you’re not tying up West Wing resources calling sex lines,’ she said lightly.

Kent rubbed his forehead. ‘How may I help you, Ma’am?’

‘Just wanted to go over the press release.’ She tapped the sheaf of paper on his desk. ‘We’re not even on the road yet and you already look stressed. Do I gotta have Sue arrange a spa day for ya?’

Now he smiled thinly. ‘That won’t be necessary.’

‘I don’t have all day, are you going to tell me or what?’

He stepped past her to shut the door. Well, that sure as hell wasn’t good.

‘I’m sure that the situation will be resolved,’ he said. He still had his hand on the door handle. ‘It’s merely taking longer than I would have expected.’ He rubbed his forehead with his free hand. ‘Richard can be… temperamental when the wind is blowing the wrong way.’ He shook his head. ‘Evidently it is blowing a veritable gale.’

Selina folded her arms. ‘Is this the thing with one of Ben’s exes trying to sell her story? I thought that was all sorted.’

‘It’s… partly dealt with. Richard has bought her off. Generally, we recompense him and, where possible, provide him with one or more alternative stories.’ Kent shrugged. ‘She’s signed an exclusive contract, so she’s not an issue.’

‘So, pay him the money, throw some fuckers under the bus. Do what you gotta do.’

Kent sighed. ‘Would that I could. It would seem that Richard is feeling unappreciated. Given his profession and manner you might think him utterly indifferent to other people’s opinions. You would be entirely incorrect. He has the most peculiar moments of intense sensitivity.’

‘Oh Jesus.’ Selina rolled her eyes. ‘What does that mean?’

‘He’s feeling… slighted,’ Kent said dryly. ‘He would deny it, but he’s been sulking since he got married. Unfortunately, the clichés regarding middle-aged men and their romantic choices are sometimes true.’

It took her a moment to parse his meaning. ‘Got married to some brainless bimbo huh?’

‘His name is _Chad_.’ Kent’s nose wrinkled. ‘He’s twenty-two. He’s uses a high rising terminal and appears to consider the word “like” as some form of punctuation.’

Selina pressed her finger to her lips as she tried not to snicker. ‘Please tell me that you didn’t have that expression on your face when you met the husband.’

Kent looked a little sheepish as he scratched his forehead. ‘Richard’s previous partners have been significantly nearer his own age, class, and economic standing.’

‘So what does _Richard_ want?’

‘That’s what took so long. He didn’t seem to be entirely clear himself in any practical sense. However, now he seems to have decided that an official dinner would be an appropriate way to boost his ego.’

‘Here? That muck-raking, kiss-and-tell buying, rumour mongering _dick_ wants me to have him at an official dinner?’ she demanded.

He folded his arms. ‘And Chad. Sat with you and the senior staff.’

‘That God damn…’ Selina shook her head. ‘How bad is this thing with Ben? How much damage will it cause?’

‘Well, it’s Ben,’ Kent said, ‘so there’s no drugs or violence, and she was of age. But he was, and is, married. Having a campaign called “Families First” associated with an admitted adulterer would be unfortunate synergy.’

‘No fucking kidding.’

‘Additionally if it were to become public knowledge… Ben is not the most psychologically robust even outside of a campaign. Another divorce would hardly be beneficial.’

Selina threw back her hair. ‘Hey, if his marriage is so fucking important he shouldn’t have been fucking around!’

Kent’s eyes narrowed for a moment. He was thinking, no, he was _calculating_. Ha.

‘Ma’am, is your decision that I should tell Richard “publish and be damned” then?’

 It was tempting but Selina sighed as she deflated. ‘No. No. Your asshole buddy is too useful to annoy. Plus, I suppose we can’t afford to lose Ben right now.’

‘Agreed.’

‘Fucking Ben.’ She tilted her head. ‘You know if I were to have this conversation with Ben about you, he’d have thrown you under the bus like _that_.’ She snapped her fingers.

‘Also agreed.’

‘And you have pretty shitty taste in friends.’

Kent shrugged. ‘We like to pretend that the persons with whom we share our lives are chosen carefully according to personal similarities, shared experiences, and complementary ethical standards. We pretend that timing and geography aren’t the overarching factors.

‘Timing I get,’ she said, ‘but geography?’

Kent’s lips shrugged into a sardonic smile. ‘A large number of Americans find their sexual partners at work. Our childhood friends are chosen often from those sitting closest to in class or on the bus. As adults we choose from classmates, colleagues, those who share our gyms or other entertainment facilities. Geography, Ma’am.’

‘And there I figured you two got cosy trading and political stories.’

Kent opened his office door. ‘Not at all.’ 

‘Are you throwing me out?’ Selina asked.

‘I should call Richard back,’ he said, ‘and you have a lunch with the Gender and Sexuality Diversity Commission.’

Selina straightened her dress as she walked to the door. ‘I think I liked you better when you were kissing my ass.’

‘No you didn’t.’

***

Fucking Ben. Thank fuck he wasn’t coming on the bus tomorrow. His constant digs at Kent could be funny but right now they’d be as welcome as piles. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Ben. She liked Ben. Course she did. He was good at his job, too, but between the depression, constantly baiting Kent, and now this whole mess…

What was his wife’s name? Selina was sure she’d met her. An acid-tongued blonde with a pill problem. That was no excuse for screwing around. It was so completely fucking selfish. What was he thinking? How could he do this to Selina?

Christ. She wasn’t looking forward to the campaign bus. It was cramped. It was noisy. She couldn’t nap and she couldn’t read because that gave her freaking travel sickness. Then she’d end up bent over the toilet with Gary rubbing her back. Very presidential. On the other hand, they’d be in some hotel overnight. Sue was bound to have booked somewhere pretty decent. She seemed to like her creature comforts and assumed everyone else felt the same.

A hotel. A hotel had possibilities. Hotels didn’t have butlers, maids, cooks, and all the other household staff that tiptoed around the White House. They didn’t have the staffers that cluttered up the West Wing. They had rooms with connecting doors…

There would be the secret service, sure, but Selina wouldn’t get a thing done if she went around acting like the secret service were actually people.

On her way out to the lunch, Selina stopped by Sue’s desk.

‘Yes, Ma’am?’

‘Sue, uh, quick question. Do you arrange with the hotel who’s assigned to which room? Or is that done by them?’

The younger woman raised an eyebrow. ‘Your room is assigned in advance,’ she said. ‘The others are only specified if I have had a request.’

Selina paused. ‘Such as?’

Sue neatly put the cap back on her pen. ‘Nobody ever wished to have a room next to Dan. Gary always wishes to be as close to you as possible. Mike always asks for a microwave and a small refrigerator. The Vice President has made no requests.’

‘Huh,’ Selina said darkly. ‘What about, uh, what about Ben and Kent? What kinda requests do they put in?’

The corner of Sue’s mouth twitched. ‘Mr Cafferty always asks for a minibar stocked with whiskey and brandy. He prefers a room with a fire escape where possible. The only thing that Mr Davison has ever asked for is a sea view.’

Selina nodded. ‘Right, right.’ She bounced up on her toes. ‘Here’s the thing, Sue, this is really crucial time for us strategically. So, I’m gonna need you to make sure that Kent’s room is next to mine. So we can meet whenever and… strategize.’

Sue was less emotive than most lumps of rock. It was the first time that Selina really appreciated it. She didn’t even blink, let alone question.

‘I will make the call,’ Sue said.

‘Good. Good, do that.’ Selina twisted awkwardly on her heel and walked away.

There was definitely something to be said for the convenience of fucking someone on staff.

***

 Nobody talked about it, but there was a freaking _smell_ when a bunch of men were stuck in a room for hours, tired, stressed, and increasingly irritable. It wasn’t sweat, although that was part of it, and it wasn’t coffee, although that was part of it too. Did testosterone have a smell? Selina wasn’t sure. Not that any of the guys on her team were exactly suffering from testosterone poisoning. Jesus, she was amazed that Gary had enough to make him lose his hair. That was how it was supposed to work, right? But then there was Kent, who wasn’t exactly a linebacker, but had a ridiculous head of hair and by comparison made Gary look like a teenage girl.

Selina glanced at her watch. Christ, nearly midnight.

‘I’m the new boy here,’ Tom said, touching his chest, ‘so forgive me for speaking out of turn, but it seems that we’re not telling anyone what we believe. Instead of actually telling the voters what our core values are, we’re desperately trying to sell ourselves as being something to everyone.’

‘Yeah,’ Ben said heavily. ‘It’s a little thing called politics. It’s getting pretty popular.’

 Mike put his head in his hands. ‘I can’t announce what we really think.’

Kent was pouring coffee. He murmured something to Sue, and _smirked_ when she flashed him a look. To Selina her expression looked exactly the same as it always did, but Kent clearly saw something in it.

‘We interrupting your conversation over there?’ Selina asked.

Shit. Everyone had gone quiet. They were all looking at her.

‘I was just saying that I can’t announce to the press what we think,’ Mike said, blinking. ‘Nine times out of ten I don’t know what we’re thinking.’

‘That’s okay, Mike,’ Ben said. ‘Nine times out of ten I _wish_ I didn’t know what we think.’

‘I really don’t think that your attitude is helping,’ Selina said. ‘If I wanted cheap cynicism I’d go call fucking Dan.’

Tom held up his hands. ‘Hey, it’s late and we’re all under a lot of stress. So why don’t we call it a night? We can start fresh in the morning.’

‘It IS the morning,’ Ben said.

Selina waved a hand as she straightened up. Her back felt like someone had turned it into mass of rusty chains. ‘Yeah, yeah. Let’s call it a night.’

Of course Mike practically bolted for the freaking door. If Amy was here she wouldn’t move. Hell, she’d probably be arguing that they had more work to do. Dan too, little suck-up. Whatever else you could say about the two of them, they weren’t afraid of a little hard work.

‘Kent, would uh, would you stay behind for five minutes?’ she asked.

He was gathering up his things but nodded easily enough. The rest of them left together although she suspected that Ben was going to find somewhere to drink before he went home.

Selina swung her arms. Clapped her hands together. ‘So… You wanna have a quickie?’

He glanced at his watch. ‘Sure.’

‘Such enthusiasm.’

Kent rubbed his eye with his palm. ‘It’s late. I’m tired.’

‘Yeah, and I’m the one who always ends up doing all the hard work.’ As she stalked past, he slapped her ass.

‘Hey!’

‘Merely demonstrating a willingness to do some of the hard work.’

Christ, she had no idea what to think about that. She didn’t think he could have it in him to be _playful_. He really must be almost as freaking exhausted as she was. For a second, maybe two, she wondered if she should just go to bed. Nah. Screw that. The whole damn day people had been either been fucking with her or fucking her over. It was about time she at least freaking enjoyed it.

***

In her bedroom, he let his tie drop to the floor.

‘Don’t you fucking dare,’ Selina said. Her yawn made her a little less intimidating than she’d have preferred.

‘What?’

‘Don’t be throwing your clothes all over the place.’ She tugged down her zipper. ‘That shit is for old married couples who don’t care anymore.’

Kent smiled thinly. ‘I wouldn’t know.’

‘Well, I’m telling you.’ She scowled as she wriggled out of her dress. ‘Those of us only in it for sex make more of a damn effort. Tells you everything you need to know about marriage.’

He held up his hands. ‘Whatever.’

Selina sat on the bed while she peeled off her underwear. ‘How come you never got married?’

‘That seems like a poor conversational topic under the circumstances.’

Selina looked up. He was folding up his clothes on a chair. ‘You’re not in bad condition. You do mostly Pilates and yoga, right? Not so much weights.’

‘I don’t do weights.’ He sat down behind her. ‘I run. Swim sometimes.’

She looked back at him over her shoulder. ‘Whatcha doing back there?’

‘You’re tired,’ Kent said. ‘I’m tired. Lie down on your side. Far less physical exertion.’

‘You better not be planning on any burglary, Mister.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘This is you making an effort, is it?’

‘Okay. Fine. Whatever.’

She lay on her side. He curled up behind her. She could feel his skin against her. The warmth of his breath. His beard brushed against her shoulder. He used some sorta oil on it. Something to make it soft. It smelled faintly of cedar and sandalwood.

Selina yawned. 

Christ, he was kissing the nape of her neck. His hand was stroking her arm. Selina felt the hairs on her forearm standing up. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be _fucking_ , a pounding, hard, cold, and unrelenting. This… this thing that he was doing was giving her the god damn creeps.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ she asked.

‘Would you relax?’ he murmured.

‘That was kinda the whole point of being here.’

His fingers slipped around to her breasts.

‘Was beginning to think you’d forgotten about those,’ she said.

‘And I was beginning to think you might, for a short time, actually be able to simply relax and enjoy yourself.’

Selina moved her hair back and away.

Kent kissed along her shoulder blade, slow sucking kisses, with the tiniest hint of teeth just grazing her skin. Which… mmm. Okay. Selina closed her eyes and pushed back against him.

It was weird. It was deeply, intensely fucking weird.

***

Maybe the lamp woke her or the sound of running water. Whatever it was, she woke up, saw a shadow, and started to scream.

‘Are you nuts?’ Kent demanded. ‘You’ll have half the staff in here.’

Selina shoved him. ‘What the fuck are you still doing here at… three in the morning?’

He straightened up. He wasn’t even fucking _dressed_. ‘I fell asleep.’

‘You fell asleep!’

‘I just woke up, he said. ‘I went to the bathroom. Apologies for waking you up.’

‘How the fuck did you fall asleep?’ she demanded.

Kent’s hair was a dishevelled mess. He pushed it back out of his eyes. ‘The same way that you did, I imagine.’

‘Well, you can’t stay here.’ Selina scuttled out of bed. ‘We have an understanding.’ She jabbed a finger at him. ‘We have sex and then you leave. That’s our understanding. Well we had sex, now leave.’

Kent blinked at her. ‘It’s three in the morning.’

‘Exactly my freaking point.’ Selina waved her hands. ‘Shoo!’

‘By the time I got home I’d have less than two hours to sleep before I had to get up again.’

‘Not my problem!’ Selina scooped up his clothes and threw them at him.

He caught them but stared at her. ‘You’re not serious.’

‘Get out already!’

Kent shook his head. ‘I’ll go to one of the bedrooms.’

‘Oh no, no, no.’

He was still shaking his head as he walked towards the door. ‘This will hardly be the first time that a staffer has slept here after working late.’

Selina threw herself out of bed. ‘Hell no, you can’t –’

He shut the door in her face. In her _face_.

***

Catherine was simpering on the phone. Christ. It was revolting. You’d never catch Selina getting dewy-eyed and giggly over some man. _Men_. As soon as the novelty wore off then so did whatever meagre effort they were putting in.

 _And_ she’d never met a single one who could cope with a woman taking the lead. They always had to be the one making the most money, the one with the high powered job, and the one who made all the decisions. Just _once_ she’d like to be with a guy who didn’t care she made more money or that she was the one making the decisions. Why was that so fucking difficult?

Catherine sat down and poked her eggs with her fork. ‘That didn’t last long.’

‘What?’ Selina snapped. ‘What’re you talking about now?’

‘Your mood. I assume that your fabulous new “arrangement” has come crashing to a halt?’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘Excuse me?’

Catherine shrugged. ‘I hate to be the one to mention it, Mom, but you’re in an absolutely foul mood. Nothing’s going wrong with the campaign so far this week so…’

Selina put down her spoon and folded her arms. ‘I am shocked, Catherine, I really am. I cannot believe that my own daughter has so much internalised misogyny that she would think that. If you were sat here with any other president, then you wouldn’t assume that any tiny bit of irritability was due to their love life. You would assume that it was due to some appalling political pressure. ’

Catherine smiled slightly. ‘I might if it was Buchanan. He’s the only other unmarried president, right?’

‘Don’t be a smart ass.’

‘Or Clinton. I bet his love life caused tons of problems all the time.’

Selina snorted. ‘Well, yeah. Being a hound will do that, _and_ cause problems for your whole goddamn party.’ She poked the table. ‘I have to invite that panty drawer rifling asshole to an official dinner. Can you believe that?’

Catherine blinked and twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. ‘Clinton?’

‘What? No. Richard Gauden.’  

‘Oh,’ Catherine said, unaccountably disappointed. ‘The publisher?’

‘Yeah. All because Ben can’t keep his dick in his pants.’

Catherine pushed her plate away. ‘Thanks, Mom, now I’m grossed out as well as confused.’

***

Gary was being Gary. Flapping around the White House like he was afraid someone was going to break in while he wasn’t looking. He’d packed about ten suitcases and a dozen hat boxes. Anyone’d think he’d never been on campaign before. Ben was slumping about the place doing his best freaking hang dog expression. Selina knew what _his_ problem was, being left out of things. Oh he’d make out that he wanted out of politics and all that jazz, but as soon as anything was going down he had to be right in the thick of things.

Amy had been like that. Even when she was on vacation she’d be calling in to the office or sending texts. Hell, Selina remembered getting texts from her at three or four in the morning. She’d have gone home and stayed up working or woken up and suddenly remembered something. If Selina had to put money on someone being loyal to the end, it would’ve been Amy.

‘Aren’t we missing someone?’ Tom asked, as they gathered for a quick morning meeting before setting off. ‘We appear to be short one campaign manager.’

Ben stuck his thumbs in his belt. ‘We’ve been short one of those since Amy left.’

‘Mr Davison has an ETA of three minutes,’ Sue said flatly. ‘He had an emergency meeting.’

‘Well tell him to get his little ass in gear,’ Selina said. ‘We got no time to hang around waiting on him.’

Ben shuddered slightly. ‘Little ass?’

It was less than two minutes before Kent arrived. From what Selina could see his emergency meeting had been with the barber. He didn’t apologise for being late. Hell, he didn’t even look at her. Rude, that’s what it was. Not that he had enough social grace to fill a thimble.

‘Hope we’re not interrupting your busy social life,’ Selina said to him.

‘No,’ he said. He glanced up from his iPad and gave a polished, professional smile totally at odds with his tone. ‘Apologies.’

***

‘Hey,’ Selina hissed at him as they gathered by the bus.

‘What?’

‘What is your fucking –’ she paused to plaster on a smile as Tom passed them and climbed on the bus. ‘– problem?’

Kent looked at her blankly. Really, it was a fucking paean to blankness.

‘Don’t give me that,’ she said. ‘You turned up late and when I picked you up on it, you gave me _face_.’

‘Is there a point to this, Ma’am?’ he asked coldly. ‘I’m very busy and I got very little sleep.’

‘Well whose fault is that?’

Kent raised an eyebrow. ‘In both cases, Ma’am, yours. Now, please excuse me.’ He turned sharply on his heel and climbed up into the bus.


	2. Chapter 2

The thing that pissed Selina, that really cooked her omelette, was being treated as disposable. Who the fuck did Kent think he was, giving her the cold shoulder. He was the disposable one, for fuck’s sake. He should be god damned _grateful_ that she gave him the opportunity to fuck her. Grateful! Not getting his panties in a bunch because she told him to stick to his part of the damn deal.

_He_ was the one who was disposable. She could get another fuck buddy like _that_. He wasn’t freaking special. She didn’t even like him, and don’t even get her started on whatever the fuck had been going on last night. Kissing her neck, what the fuck was that about?  

She settled back in her chair and flipped through the political columns. More praise for Tom but where the hell was the acknowledgement for her choosing him, huh? She _made_ him and where was her damn respect?

This was the worst part of campaigning. People made out like road trips were some kind of romantic thing. A part of the American psyche. She called it bullshit. She could’ve flown in a fraction of the time but oh no. Don’t go rubbing it in the faces of the average Joes. Far better for the freaking president to be fed-up, exhausted, and frankly a little smelly. God knew why that voters wanted politicians who pretended they didn’t know a fuck about anything. 

Selina slipped off her shoes. Christ she was tired. The sex had been worth losing an hour of sleep, she couldn’t pretend otherwise. But damn she was paying for it today. How the fuck had she fallen asleep with Kent in her bed? Just the thought was… urgh. It was some kind of nightmare. She’d close her eyes for five minutes. Just a couple of minutes to recalibrate, that was all. She wasn’t going to go to sleep, she didn’t have the time. Too many things to do. Someone had to keep the bozos in check.

***

Selina rolled onto her side. Why couldn’t the damn chairs recline? Distant voices wavered in an out of audible focus as she shivered and struggled to get comfortable.

Something was tucked around her shoulders. _About fucking time_.

***

She woke up to the sound of Gary whining. Just great. God, there were some days she wished that girlfriend of his would whisk him off somewhere away from her. Were they still even dating? Gary hadn’t mentioned her in ages. _Men_.

‘I’m just saying you should’ve asked me,’ Gary said. ‘She might’ve overheated.’

‘You’re not her mother,’ Mike muttered from his seat. He’d been in a shitty mood the last day or so.

‘I’m her bag man and her friend,’ Gary wailed.

Oh, Christ. Selina sat up. Her eyes felt full of grit.

‘Who turned the air conditioning up to fucking Alaska?’ Selina asked, rubbing her arm. ‘I’m freezing to death here.’

Kent was stood in front of Gary. He made a sharp gesture at Selina with his hand, and stamped away.

Gary reddened and hunted through the Leviathan for a shawl.

‘What was that about?’ Sue asked as Gary draped the shawl around her shoulders.

‘Hmm?’

‘You and…’ she waved a hand towards Kent. ‘Haven’t heard you having a row since Dan left.’

‘It was nothing,’ Gary said. He lowered his voice. ‘I just thought that Kent should’ve asked me first.’

Selina looked him askance. ‘What the fuck are you talking about, Gary?’

He muttered something. She thought she caught the word “cold.”

‘What?’

Mike rolled his eyes. ‘For God’s sake.’ He looked at Selina. ‘Kent got it into his head that you were cold. He put his jacket around you. Then Gary here actually managed to out-weird Kent by yanking it away.’

Selina opened and closed her mouth. ‘Well, I fucking _was_ cold. Jesus, Gary, get with the program. This is what I pay you for.’

Gary ducked his head. ‘I’ll go turn down the air conditioning.’

‘Yeah, ya should.’

Tom looked up from his iPad. ‘I could never get on with the whole entourage thing. I don’t want to end up in a bubble.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘Yeah, well, you know. I have a ton of things I’m juggling and I can’t do them all by myself.’

‘Oh, sure,’ Tom said. ‘But some things like getting a blanket or turning on heating maybe...’

Selina forced a smile. ‘Good point, Tom. I’ll think about it.’

She got to her feet and swayed down the bus to where Kent was working on his tablet computer.

‘We got at ETA on Pennsylvania?’

He glanced at his watch and then looked up at her with that plastic, professional smile.

‘Two hours, ma’am.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you kidding me with the ma’am, bullshit?’

Kent’s face took on a pinched expression. ‘I assure you, ma’am, I have no intention of amusing you.’

‘Well good,’ she said, ‘because you’re about as funny as an enema, and about as welcome.’

***

As much as she hated the travelling, Selina did _love_ the business end of campaigning: the cheers, the bright smiling faces, hell even the meeting and greeting. Who the fuck needed drugs when you had the energy of a crowd?

She bounced up the steps of the bus and danced to the back.

‘I am on fire!’

‘Yes you are!’ Gary said, rushing forward.

‘Just have to keep Tom from getting carried away,’ she said. ‘He needs to understand that there’s one leading lady here and that’s me.’

Gary nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

She ran her fingers through her hair. ‘Doyle knew his place; you know what I mean?’

Gary glanced past her. ‘You look a little… would you like a nice cup of tea?’

‘Tea?’ Selina echoed. ‘I’m riding the crest of a wave of adulation and you want to give me tea?’

‘It’s very soothing.’

‘Well that’s great, Gary. I’ll be sure and tell you when I wanna be soothed. Which isn’t right now. I wanna surf the bus. I wanna run around with the wind in my hair. I wanna fuck on the top of the bus _with_ the wind in my hair.’

Gary smiled nervously.

‘Not with you,’ Selina said. ‘Quit freaking out.’

‘Oh thank God,’ he muttered. ‘I don’t do well with heights.’

Selina looked across at Mike, who was scowling at his cell. ‘What the fuck is with you? Did you find out Siri is seeing other users behind your back?’

He shrugged. ‘No, it’s Amy.’

‘Oh, great. What now, has she issued a press statement? What would that be like? Twelve pages of wibble noises, am I right?’

Mike’s hangdog expression deepened. ‘Actually, she’s just mad at me. She keeps hate texting.’

‘Ah.’ Selina nodded. ‘Because you said she was nuts. You’re supposed to say that stuff off the record and let the rumours percolate, Mike. You’re not supposed to put it in a press statement.’

‘I didn’t think she’d still be mad. Angry, I mean. She’d still be angry.’ He sighed. ‘She keeps calling me fat and stupid and now she says I look sweaty and am I going through the menopause.’

Selina groaned. ‘God, young women these days think that equality means being just as misogynistic as men.’

‘Depressing,’ Gary murmured.

‘Make up with her,’ Selina said to Mike.

‘What? How?’

‘I don’t know how. We don’t want her telling people shit they don’t need to know.  Apologise or something. Off the record!’

She expected this level of social ineptitude from the robots, the one who were creepily, mechanically good at their actual jobs; like Sue, or Kent, but she expected better from Mike. Talking to people was _literally_ his job.

The bus lurched, and Selina almost fell against Tom, who was in search of coffee. He caught her with a smile and some witty comment she didn’t actually hear. Obviously nothing could ever happen between her and Tom, not now, but it was nice to be reminded that there were men in the world who thought she was worthy of charm. She’d always been a sucker for a great smile and an alluring manner. Charisma was always something she appreciated. It was the thing she missed about Dan, he was a devious little shit who would stab her in the back for a Diet Coke, but he was charming when he wanted to be.

***

There was a really weird editorial in one of the tabloids all about remembering that a vote for a president was also a vote for their ‘flunkies, yes-men, and toadies’ and that informed voters should be aware who they were truly voting for.

‘What the fuck is this about?’ she asked, waving the tablet at Kent.

He grunted, which was a sound that had taken on somewhat uncomfortable connotations since they had begun screwing. At least he hadn’t growled. She really did have mixed feelings about his tendency to growl during sex.

‘Richard Gauden,’ he said. ‘He must’ve written that before we confirmed the dinner.’

‘This is aimed at you?’ Selina asked. ‘Just how rude were you to his husband?’

If she didn’t know better she’d think that he looked _sheepish_.

‘I said nothing to his husband.’ Kent twitched slightly, probably his version of squirming. ‘Chad and I are only on the most cursory of terms. Richard’s irritation is at his own bruised ego.’

‘It’s amazing, really, the power that these media barons still wield,’ Tom said thoughtfully, ‘given that few people read beyond headlines. Most of the real people I know get their news, such as it is, from Facebook and Twitter.’

‘God, that’s a depressing thought,’ Selina said.

‘Absolutely,’ Gary said. ‘I get my news from Buzzfeed.’

Selina tried not to meet anyone else’s eyes. ‘Well, make sure you tell the asshole that when we have the dinner.’

‘What fun,’ Tom said dryly. ‘Would it be rude of me to ask exactly _what_ the Hearst wannabe has that we’re so willing to suck up to him?’

‘Oh God no, it wouldn’t be rude,’ Selina said. ‘It would be a question best left to the grownups. Okay, Tom? You concentrate on batting your eyes at the press and we’ll deal with the dirty stuff.’

He held up his hands. ‘Understood. I’m the new boy around here.’

***

After a while all hotels started to look alike. Selina trudged along the corridors with Gary, Ben, and Kent. Mike and the driver were on another floor. Well, Gary was too but of course he had to help Selina get settled in first. If you asked Gary, she could barely breathe without him hanging around. And that was fine because it made him feel valued and useful. God, men and their fragile egos.

Tom was in a different hotel for “security reasons” which in Selina’s experience was code for ‘look I just wanted too, okay?’ It didn’t matter much. She needed some space. His charm offensive was becoming less charming and more offensive. Despite Gary’s best attempts, she’d seen the headline calling him the best POTUS they’d never had. Fricking assholes. That was just blatant… what did they call it, trolling? Blatantly so. Kent had been way too relaxed about letting her get a hold of it. She knew what that was about. Oh yeah. She had his number. He never complained directly and he never attacked directly either. He’d nod and smile that fake smile and screw you over some way. He probably figured that article would take her down a peg or two. Well the joke was on him. She was the goddamn president and nobody took her down. Not like that. The only “going down” was gonna be after they returned to the hotel in the evening. She hoped.

She never used to want to fuck Andrew or Ted if they’d had some kind of a disagreement. But pissed off Kent was much more fun that happy Kent, and much less weird than tired Kent.

He was frowning at the hotel door he was stood in front of.

‘What’s your problem?’ Selina asked.

‘No problem, merely surprised.’ Kent opened his door.

‘That’s your room?’ Gary asked.

‘So it would appear.’

‘Oh.’ Gary sniffed. ‘Not the secret service?’

‘Not unless their standards have really slipped,’ Selina snorted.

 It took way too long to get her bags unpacked and shoo Gary from the room. Another night, another campaign dinner, when what she _really_ wanted to was sit in bed eating hot wings and drinking beer. She was so freaking tired. The kind of tired that her desperately snatched four or five hours of sleep a night could barely touch. When she finally dragged herself into bed she had to fight to clear her mind long enough to fall asleep. Did she get any respect? From _anyone_? She didn’t even get treated like a freaking person. President? Goddamn official scapegoat for the entire fucking country, that’s what she was.

Selina kicked off her shoes, shrugged off her jacket, and lay down on the bed. Tom was a good choice. He was. Of course he was or she wouldn’t have chosen him. Basic fucking logic. But was he _too_ good. You never got a vice president better than you. That was just basic. Those assholes were sneaky. They were inches away from the big brass ring and fuck if they could stop themselves reaching for the thing. That was just one of the many, many ways that Hughes was a fricking idiot. He was punching way above his weight when he chose Selina as his vice president and he knew it. That was why he worked so hard to keep her down and undermine her. She knew it.

There was a tap on the connecting door. Selina hauled herself up. Was she fit to be seen? Blouse buttoned up. Skirt not tucked into her panties. Hair done. She hadn’t eaten anything so nothing was in her teeth. Good to go.

‘What?’ she asked, opening the door.

Kent narrowed his eyes. ‘I thought perhaps this was a closet.’

‘You always knock on the closet door before you open it?’

‘Only if there’s a risk that you might be on the other side,’ he said. ‘Like some kind of Narnian nightmare.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Well go back and play with your lamppost Mr Tumnus.’

‘Why do we have adjoining rooms?’ he asked flatly.

‘Do I look like Sue to you?’

 Kent put his hands on his waist. ‘‘Before we left, Sue made a comment that was both typically acerbic and atypically obtuse. At the time I assumed she was merely amusing herself, but now I have to question whether you have done something… indiscreet.’  

Selina felt herself reddening. ‘This forty-five minutes right now is the _only_ bit of me time I’m going to have before my head hits the pillow. I don’t have time for guessing games.’

‘She said that she hoped I enjoyed having you “up close and personal.” Ma’am, what precisely did you say to her?’ Kent asked.

‘I… nothing… I just…’ she waved her hands. ‘All I said was, could she ask the hotel to give you the room next to mine because we need to strategize. It was nothing. Okay? I’m sure that you’re overreacting.’

Sure, she didn’t believe it herself, but that didn’t make his pissy expression any easier to take.

He shook his head and pursed his lips before he spoke. God, did he have to make her feel like a naughty kid?

‘Tell me, Ma’am, did you do the same when Amy was your campaign manager?’

‘I do not appreciate your _tone_ ,’ she said, poking his shoulder.

He caught her wrist. ‘I do not appreciate being “outed,” particularly without consultation or warning.’

‘Sue doesn’t know,’ she argued. ‘She’s just blowing smoke up your ass.’

 Kent snorted. ‘We both know better than that.’

‘Well, you’re just going to have to shut her down aren’t you?’ she said, yanking her hand free.

‘Naturally.’ He smiled thinly. ‘You can hardly be expected to deal with your own mistakes.’ He stepped back and slammed the door shut.

‘Asshole!’

‘Ma’am?’

‘Shit!’ she stalked to her bedroom door and threw it open. ‘What?’

The secret service agent had his hand on the butt of his weapon. ‘I heard yelling, Ma’am. Is there a problem?’

Selina tilted her head. ‘I yelled “asshole,” is that your name?’

He straightened up. ‘I beg your pardon, Ma’am.’

‘Yeah, well, next time pay more attention. Or less attention. Pick one,’ she said.

***

Stiletto heels had to have been invented by men. Stiletto heels, bras, and freaking Brazilian waxes. All men had to do was put on a suit and tie then comb their hair. Done! God, if Gary had to wear the ridiculous shoes he chose for her then he’d soon change his mind about Uggs and hiking boots.

‘Everything okay?’ Gary whispered to her.

Selina forced a smile. Whoever had arranged this fundraiser had seated them practically on each other laps.

‘My cooch feels like it’s on fricking fire,’ she said.

‘Ohh,’ he said, his solicitous smile faltering a little. ‘I have some lotion in my room.’

‘Go fetch it.’

‘But…’ he glanced imploring at his half-eaten food.

‘On fire, Gary,’ she snarled.

Kent hadn’t come back to her about Sue. That wasn’t a surprise. Selina didn’t hire people that she had to micromanage. Who had time for that shit? She told them what had to happen and left it to them to work out the fine details. He was probably worrying about nothing. Christ, why _wouldn’t_ Sue mess with him? Selina wasn’t one for going quietly when her relationships ended. She hoped that Ted enjoyed all the free magazines and catalogues she’d signed him up for on the internet. She’d lost count somewhere around a hundred. Not as satisfying as setting shit on fire or smashing shit up. But she liked to think it lasted a lot longer.

Sue didn’t seem the type to do either. But she didn’t seem the type to get into loud arguments at work as her relationship disintegrated, but she’d done that. Christ.

Selina shook her head. Was there a single freaking person in the whole damn place she could actually rely on? Gary was useless, Mike was only slightly better, Bill was nearly as self-serving as Dan and now even Sue was getting insubordinate. This wasn’t what she’d seen for herself when she’d gone into politics. She was going to be the fifth face on Mount Rushmore, damn it. They were going to be teaching school kids her name for the next hundred years.

Instead, she spent most of her time as a glorified babysitter cajoling congress and the senate to eat their damn greens. Those old farts acted like “reform” was a dirty word and “childcare” something that only concerned women.

‘I’d offer a penny for your thoughts, but we’re in mixed company,’ Tom said. ‘And your thoughts look like they might include adult language.’

Selina shrugged. ‘Just reflecting on the joys of being in politics in the finest democracy in the world.’

Tom waggled his fork. ‘You wouldn’t be anywhere else.’

As Gary rushed in through the door, Selina stood up. ‘Actually, right now I’d rather be in the ladies’ room.’ 

***

Selina waved off Gary as she shut her bedroom door. She should’ve been tired but she felt antsy, full of excess energy that a day in the bus hadn’t come close to dissipating. Well, she knew a cure for that.

She took off her makeup, put down her hair, had a quick shower, and changed into a pair of silk pyjamas. Then she opened the connecting door to Kent’s room.

The floor was almost invisible beneath clothes, shoes, and paperwork. Christ, you’d have through that someone as cold and precise as Kent would’ve been neat and tidy. Maybe into that minimalist shit. Not this chaos. Catherine at her worst had nothing on it. Selina dreaded to think what his house was like.

‘No, it’s Kent,’ she heard him say.

She turned and saw he was sat on the end of the bed. He’d half-undressed. He had his cell wedged between his ear and his shoulder, and his head in his hands.

‘No. No, you called me,’ he said. ‘You… Yes. I promise that you did. I don’t know, you didn’t tell me. Have a look around. Is anything broken? Are you at home? You’re not in the street? No. I’m not being facetious, merely… Mama, I’m not.’

Selina took a step back but her foot caught the door.

‘Ow, shit,’ she muttered.

‘What’re you doing there?’ Kent demanded, he had the cell clenched in his fist.

‘I saw you were on the phone so I was vamoosing,’ she said.

His expression was ugly. ‘How long were you there?’

‘Hey, you didn’t lock the connecting door.’ Selina folded her arms. ‘Sorry,’ she said more quietly. ‘Didn’t mean to snoop. What is it, dementia? My dad got like that. Fucking heart breaking. My mom was determined he wasn’t going in a home but of course I was the one who was somehow supposed to make that happen. How the fuck she thought she could look after him I have no idea.’ Selina shifted uncomfortably. He was still staring at her. ‘How old is your mom?’

‘I’m not having this conversation with you,’ he said.

‘Christ, I’m just saying that I’ve been there.’ Selina shook her head. ‘The random phone calls. The accidents. Getting lost. Does she still recognise you? That one is an absolute -’

‘I don’t wish to discuss this with you.’

Selina blinked. He sounded more panicked than angry. ‘You want a couple of fingers?’ she offered.

‘Uh?’

‘Bourbon!’ she said quickly. ‘I have a bottle in my room.’ She nudged aside a mismatched pair of shoes. ‘You want a belt?’

For a second, he seemed too confused to reply, and then he nodded.

Selina padded back into her room and dug out the flask of bourbon. ‘Didya speak to Sue?’ she asked as he sat in her guest chair. He wasn’t ridiculously tall like Jonah, or even Bill, but his legs sprawled out of the chair all the same.

‘I asked why she’d given us adjoining rooms,’ he said. ‘She suggested that we might enjoy midnight feasts.’

Selina handed him a glass. ‘That’s a real rip-snorter of a Sue joke, huh?’

Kent nodded.

‘So, does she know or what?’

‘She knows,’ he said. ‘I had to explain the particulars of the arrangement.’

Selina nearly choked on her drink. ‘The fuck you did!’

Kent frowned. ‘I did. Sue is a sensitive woman and her pride was at stake.’

Selina sat in the other chair. ‘She doesn’t wanna think you’ve moved on, huh?’

‘A stance with which I cannot find fault,’ Kent said, taking a drink of his bourbon. ‘No one wishes to be replaceable easily.’

‘Or at all.’

Kent winced ‘I have no desire to cause her any further pain.’

Selina frowned. ‘We talking about the same Sue? What d’ya do, cheat on her?’

That got his full-bore glare. ‘I am no philanderer. I’ve never been unfaithful to anyone.’

‘Geez, okay.’ Selina gulped down some bourbon. ‘Although that’s a good thing to know. We should ask that when we nominate. Never trust a cheater. Rule fucking one.’

Kent ran the glass between his palms. ‘On that we can agree.

‘So, I really need your head in the game so you need to sort this thing out with your mom.’ She flipped her hair back. ‘You have sisters, right? You could get one of them to…’

Kent slammed down his glass. ‘What part of my not wishing to discuss this is so difficult for you to grasp?’

Selina pursed her lips as she looked away. ‘Just trying to help.’

He got to his feet. ‘When I need your assistance, Ma’am, I will be sure to tell you and then do it myself. If you’ll excuse me, I’m in desperate need some fresh air.’

Selina followed him back to his room. ‘You’re gonna randomly start wandering the city late at night. Yeah, that’s not fucking ridiculous.’

He looked at her like she was an idiot. ‘Go back to bed, Ma’am. I’m sure if you snap your fingers then Gary will come running with anything you could _possibly_ desire.’

Selina spun on her heel. She slammed the connecting door behind her. It felt good. God! This was why she didn’t get involved with her staff members’ personal lives. This was exactly why. You see these people every day at work, being sensible and practical and logical. Then it turns out that they’ve got all these _personal problems_ and _emotional issues_.

It was enough to drive a person to freaking drink.

***

She was watching trash TV when he fumbled the connecting door open. She was curled up in bed nursing both bourbon and a sour feeling in her stomach. She turned off the set and glowered as Kent leant in the doorway. He didn’t look drunk, if you could ever tell by looking. He looked restless. Seeking some outlet for uneasy energy.

‘You didn’t lock the door,’ he said.

‘Nope.’

He wasn’t the sort of man who swaggered but this was close. Selina sat up a little as he approached the bed.

‘You liquored up?’ she asked.

‘Yeah.’ He yanked back the bedclothes.

‘Take off your fucking shoes before you get on my goddamn bed.’

Kent gave her a look: disgust, dislike, desire. She took off her glasses and shook out her hair.

‘Get up,’ he said.  

She scooted to the edge of the bed. He tangled his fingers into her hair and pulled her to her feet.

‘You dick, that hurts,’ she mumbled as he kissed her.

It was unyielding but oddly precise. Exactly the way she’d have guessed he would kiss. His free arm crushed her against him.

Selina bit his lip.

He pulled her hair.

She dragged her nails along his arm. ‘What is it with you and kissing?’ Shit, she sounded breathless.

‘What is it with you and talking?’ Okay, so did he.

‘You smell like a fucking bar,’ she said.

‘You taste like desperation.’

She slapped him.

He threw her onto the bed.

Christ! Her hand ached like hell.

‘Shoes!’ she panted, as he ripped off her pyjamas.

He dropped his weight, easily pinning her down. Selina bit the shell of his ear.

‘ _Shoes_.’  

He growled. Selina felt him shift his weight, and then heard his shoes hit the floor.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Selina regarded the bike. She was too freaking sore for exercise. For that kind of exercise. God, how had she ever thought this was a good idea? Amy wouldn’t have suggested a bike ride, for charity or anything else. She wouldn’t have risked Selina breaking a sweat. She knew better. Kent was always the one suggesting freaking rafting, biking, or even skiing. She’d ruled that one out smartish. Skiing. Christ. Some asshole reporter was bound to get a photo of her crashing face first into a tree.

Okay, so, the riding wasn’t the worst thing in the world. It was kinda nice, actually, with the trees on either side and blue skies overhead. She’d have spent the whole time looking at Tom’s ass too if he hadn’t dropped back. Not that it was the worst sight in the world. Plus, it meant she wasn’t looking at his face. He was real smug that morning. She’d forgotten he had a real line in self-satisfied when things were going well. Well for him, anyhow. Typical freaking man making everything all about him. He was _her_ running mate, damn it, he was supposed to make her look good. She’d put in her time, taken all kinds of shit for Hughes. Now it was her turn. She wasn’t playing second-fiddle to some middle-aged white guy for one more single second.

***

The bike wobbled a little as the press snapped off dozens of photos. Maybe she should wave? Nah, let Tom play up to the cameras. She was too dignified to play that game. Also, she was pretty sure she’d fall on her ass. That sure as hell wasn’t an image she wanted all over the press.

O’Brien never had to worry about that. That asshole thought that picking up a gun was cardio. Nobody expected him to look good. Men could freaking look any way they wanted without anyone making any kind of comment. It was completely ridiculous that in the twenty-first century she was being judged by how she looked.

God, Mike looked like shit. She was used to Gary looking like he’d gotten dressed in the dark but at least he wasn’t on camera. Mike had no freaking excuse. Didn’t he know that he every time he gave a press statement he was representing _her_? People looked at that fuzzy hair and the terrible suits and used it to cast aspersions on her. She should have someone vet Mike before he went out. Maybe Bill. He was generally reasonably turned out. God knew that Ben mostly looked like he’d been dragged through a hedge.

There was a burst of cheering as Selina gently applied the brakes, spraying tiny pebbles across Mike, Gary, and Kent as they walked forward.

‘That was great!’ Gary said. ‘You looked am-a- _zing_.’

‘Yeah,’ Selina said, frantically attempting to keep her balance. ‘Can ya grab the… yeah the handlebars?’ She half fell from the bike and hopped a couple of steps, trying to keep her balance. ‘Jesus, it feels like I spent six hours being caned in the ass. Which is at least five and a half hours too long.’

‘Ew,’ Mike muttered.

‘Oh shut up. At least I’ve never carried around bags of jizz.’

Kent cleared his throat. ‘I think that went well,’ he said. ‘Excellent visuals and positive connotations of health, drive, and vitality.’

‘Well, my connotations feel like they’re about to fall off,’ Selina said, stretching her legs. ‘And I think you can probably smell my vitality from the bus. So let’s hustle, okay?’

***

Freaking Kent. She wasn’t totally sure at first because he was doing his damn “blankly polite” thing. But now she was sure. He was being weird at her. Weirder than what passed for “normal” for Kent. Which was saying something.

He wouldn’t meet her eyes. She knew what the problem was. The big baby was feeling guilty for playing rough. It was goddamn insulting. She wasn’t made of glass. She wasn’t some fragile little flower who needed protecting. Sexist asshole. So she was sore all over. So her head still hurt where he’d pulled her hair. So what? She was a grown up. She’d made her own choices.

And the hair pulling was kinda… yeah. She wouldn’t kick him out of bed for doing that again.

Selina shook herself. They were flying back to Washington and she had to get her head in the game for her debate with O’Brien. This was fucking critical. She and the team had watched in mounting disbelief as his wild xenophobia and blatant misogyny won nothing but cheers and fervid loyalty. When he’d won the nomination, Ben and Dan had crowed, believing that she couldn’t lose against him. Amy had been uneasy. She was always looking gift horses in the mouth. God but she’d been right. Who knew that there was such a well of disaffection and resentfulness for a fat fucker like O’Brien to tap into it?

‘I have an often observed that common sense is sadly uncommon,’ Tom said.

‘Wow,’ Selina said. ‘That is _profound_ , Tom, thank you so much.’

She saw the corner of Kent’s mouth twitch up. It was three steps away from a smirk. It normally took three stiff whiskeys or six glasses of champagne to get him unwound enough to let slip such an unguarded expression.

As Tom skulked off to grab a shower and Mike went for an uncomfortable lie down, Selina rubbed her back.

‘You were right about the buttermilk,’ she said to Kent.

He looked at her blankly. ‘Buttermilk?’

‘Buttermilk syrup. You said it was a thing. Mike said it wasn’t.’

Kent shook his head. ‘I don’t recall.’ He scratched his eyebrow. ‘I’ve slept since then.’

‘Or been in bed at least, am I right?’ Selina smirked.

He glanced at the door.

‘Oh for fuck’s sake, d’ya think I’d be saying that if there was anyone around?’ She put her feet up on the conference table. ‘Christ, give me some credit.’

‘What’s wrong with your back?’

‘Some asshole threw me onto a fucking bed.’

Kent flinched. Yeah, fucking prick felt guilty. Jesus.

He licked his lips. ‘Should we prep for the debate with O’Brien?’

She waved a hand at her feet and he lent forward to take off her shoes. ‘I’m issuing an executive order: The President is gonna watch a movie, and eat popcorn, and have a couple of beers.’ She waved a hand. ‘So run along and arrange for some popcorn for me. ’Kay? There’s a good boy.’

***

Another freaking shooting. Selina had been having such a _great_ start to her day. She’d _crushed_ O’Brien in the debate and all she wanted was a day, maybe two, to enjoy it. Was that so much to ask?

‘Five minutes to discuss the state dinner?’ Gary asked.

She blew out her cheeks. ‘Sure, whatever. Everyone’s running around trying to fix this goddamn Pittsburgh shooter problem so why the hell not chat to you about floral arrangements and napkins.’

‘I’m still here,’ Ben said, holding up his hand.

‘Actually it’s the seating plan,’ Gary said, lowering his voice to a hush. ‘There’s a teeny, tiny maybe problem.’

Selina looked at him. ‘Are you sitting Israel and Iran next to each other?’

‘I don’t have them on my list…’

‘Then it’s probably fine.’

‘We’re going to have to sit Kent next to you,’ Gary said portentously.

Urgh. Selina knew that expression. He had some gossip he was desperate to share.

Ben adjusted his tie. ‘Say goodbye to interesting conversations.’

Selina gave him a look before returning her attention to Gary. ‘Okay, fine. I’ll sit next to Kent. It’s only for a couple of hours.’

 ‘Kent and Gauden had a falling out?’ Ben asked, perking up.

‘It’s the husband,’ Gary confided. ‘Chad, he _really_ doesn’t like Kent.’

‘Doesn’t like Kent: married Richard Gauden,’ Ben said. ‘That’s some bipolar character judgement.’

‘Yeah,’ Selina snickered. ‘Well, you know what they say, when a twenty-two-year-old marries a millionaire nearly three times their age it’s gotta be _love_.’

‘The husband is _twenty-two_?’ Ben asked. ‘When I was twenty-two I was going home once a month to do laundry. Talking to a girl in the supermarket was a major social event.’

‘They met when he was an intern,’ Gary said.

Ben rolled his eyes. ‘Equality means an equal right to be taken for a ride by some bimbo on the make.’

Gary harrumphed quietly.

‘What’s your problem?’ Selina asked him.

‘When Gauden was giving evidence he called me a Remora fish,’ Gary said. He adjusted the Leviathan. ‘I thought that was rude.’

Ben waved an arm. ‘Don’t make it all personal,’ he said. ‘Gauden’s a fucking prick. He probably doesn’t remember your name.’

‘Well he sure remembers yours,’ Selina said, realising too late that Gary didn’t know anything. But Ben didn’t look embarrassed or annoyed, he just looked blank.

‘I sure hope so,’ he said. ‘You kinda expect that the owner of dozens of newspapers and a couple of entertainment websites would know the name of the President’s chief of staff.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Since we gotta invite him to a state dinner because of you, I would think that he would.’

Ben stuck out his chin. ‘I’m sorry, Ma’am, but what’re you talking about?’

Selina looked at Gary until he got the hint and flapped his way out of the room. She poured herself a drink from the bar. ‘I’m talking about the sex photos your goddamn ex-mistress is using to back up the kiss and tell she’s trying to sell.’

‘Christ, people’ll be paying them _not_ to publish,’ Ben said.

‘I sure as hell wasn’t asking to verify them.’

Ben loosened his tie. ‘Shit, you’re serious.’

‘You’re damn right.’ Selina took a belt of her drink. ‘So now we gotta suck up to Gauden or he’ll print.’

Ben slumped back onto the sofa. ‘Can’t Kent just bat his eyes or give Gauden a handjob or however their arrangement works?’

Selina threw up her hands, splashing a little bourbon. ‘Oh sure, he’d be fucking _thrilled_ to whore himself out because you can’t keep your dick in your pants.’

Ben opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.

‘Well?’ Selina prompted.

Ben stuck his finger in his ear and scratched vigorously. ‘I got stuck on the image of Kent whoring himself out. It’d be like a remake of _Pretty Woman_ by way of the world’s worst LSD trip.’

Selina grabbed a satsuma from the fruit bowl and pitched it at him. It bounced off his forehead and rolled onto the floor. ‘Fucking concentrate wouldya?’

Ben groaned as he bent over to pick up the satsuma. ‘Which girlfriend?’

‘Which… How many women did you screw around with?’

He shrugged. ‘You haven’t told me when it was. I’ve been around the block. Even got my oil changed a few times.’

Selina covered her eyes. ‘I do _not_ want to unpick that analogy.’     

Ben fidgeted with his belt buckle. ‘So Gauden’s threatening to publish, huh? That’s not going to improve his circulation. Believe it or not, Ma’am, I have not always been the sculpted marvel of sexual charisma that you see before you.’

She rolled her eyes and slumped into her seat. ‘He didn’t tell you?’

‘Gauden?’

She’d meant Kent, but she rolled with it. ‘Yeah.’

‘He didn’t say a fucking thing,’ Ben said. ‘But he’s Kent’s pet publisher. Mine tend to be a little more liberal and less inclined to pay for panty shots.’

She grimaced at that. ‘Really glad you got the moral high ground there, Ben. Sure it’d be a real comfort to your wife.’

A little colour fled from his face. ‘No doubt Kent was all for throwing me under the bus and letting Gauden publish.’

‘The shit you throw his way, wouldya blame him?’ she drained her glass. ‘But he figures another divorce would send you to the funny farm.’

Ben smiled weakly. ‘Lemme guess, that’d screw up our polling numbers.’

Selina snorted. ‘He’s probably worried he’d end up with your job too.’

‘Christ. Promise me you’ll bring back Amy before that.’ Ben rolled his eyes. ‘He’s a better campaign manager than Dan but that’s like being a better diplomat than Donald Trump.’

‘Hey, I had fifteen seconds to choose a campaign manager and so far it’s worked fine.’

‘Great, if Tom doesn’t work out maybe Kent can be your VP,’ Ben sneered. ‘Can you imagine the guy as vice president? Jesus, or president!’

Selina snickered. ‘Kent is way too boring to be VP. Job needs some sizzle.’

‘Definitely no sizzle going on there,’ Ben said. ‘No sizzle and no sausage.’

Selina gave him a look. ‘Pretty sure there won’t be any photos of his sausage showing up any time soon. Wish I could say the same about you.’

***

 

‘Well that was a fucking disaster,’ Selina said, as the party broke up.

Catherine silently reached for a dish of ice cream. Gary pushed it out of her reach.

‘I could’ve been shot,’ Catherine said.

‘Yeah, no,’ Selina said. ‘Gary, would you get rid of that?’

He hesitated and she saw his gaze flick to the clock. ‘Absolutely.’

‘Then you should get home,’ she said.

‘Oh, thank you.’

Catherine lent against that table as he left. ‘You’re doing that thing,’ she said.

Selina kicked off her shoes. ‘What thing?’

‘Oh, God, Mom, don’t make me spell it out.’ Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘You’re all tense and stressed and clearly thinking about your “arrangement” with this guy whoever he is. So, just go… do who you do. I’ll watch TV.’

‘Nah.’ Selina waved her hand. ‘I’m not gonna run out on you, sweetie, not to scratch some itch for quick and meaningless sex.’

Catherine just looked at her.

‘I couldn’t do that,’ Selina said. ‘Could I? No. No. I couldn’t.’

Catherine walked away, waving her hand. ‘Just go, Mom. I can’t deal with you in this mood.’

***

Selina was surprised to find Sue still in her office.

‘Hey, you’re here late,’ Selina said, more out of a desire to fill the silence than anything else.

‘I had some things to catch up on.’

Selina swung her arms. ‘I don’t suppose Kent’s in his office?’

‘You are in luck,’ Sue said. ‘He returned from the boys’ club a few moments ago.’

Selina raised an eyebrow at Sue’s tone. ‘The boys’ club?’

‘Ben invites certain staffers for “Friday night drinks” as he calls it,’ Sue said. ‘Tonight he invited Tom James for the first time. Tom James brought along Jonah and Richard.’

Selina’s face twisted in disgust. ‘Jonah and Richard?’

‘That was Kent’s expression when he told me,’ Sue said.  

‘Why the _fuck_ wasn’t I invited when I was VP?’

Sue looked at her. ‘I have never been invited either. Nor was Amy.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘But Ben invites Kent?’

‘Yes,’ Sue said. ‘And Bill.’

‘Ben fucking hates Kent!’ Selina slapped the desk. ‘He never lets by a single opportunity to remind everyone that he hates him. God damn boys’ club, that’s what it is.’

‘Hence my use of the term.’

‘How’d you find out about it?’ Selina asked.

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘Kent mentioned it in passing. He was under the mistaken impression that Amy and I had been asked but had declined.’

‘He cannot be that naïve.’

Sue’s expression softened a fraction. ‘You would be surprised.’

***

Selina caught Kent getting ready to leave. ‘So Friday night drinks, huh?’ she asked stepping inside the office and shutting the door behind her.

He looked at her blankly. ‘You’re forty-five minutes late and in the wrong office.’ He was buttoning up that grey woollen coat. Jesus, it was like ‘boring and non-descript’ made into a piece of clothing.

‘Why wasn’t I invited?’ she demanded.

‘Didn’t you have your dinner with old lawyer friends?’

‘Okay, _today_ I was but… you know what. Never mind. We can have this discussion tomorrow.’

Kent straightened his sleeves. ‘I will look forward to that with keen anticipation.’

‘So, you doing something fun?’ she asked.

 ‘I was hoping to catch a movie with some friends,’ Kent said. ‘Then we’re going to dinner.’

‘Dinner and a movie!’ Selina said. ‘God, I wish I had friends I wanted to spend that much time with.’ She didn’t expect him to pick up the hint but she kinda _hoped_.

‘I haven’t gotten home before ten PM in almost six weeks,’ Kent said.

‘Cry me a river. I’m literally _never_ off the clock.’

Kent pulled on his gloves. They were grey leather with a couple of buttons at the wrist. They totally distracted Selina for a good fifteen seconds.

‘What? What were you saying?’ she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘I said that you live upstairs, more or less.’

‘More or less? Who’re you and where’s the real Kent Davison?’

He didn’t laugh. Hell, he didn’t even smile. In front of other people, he at least pretended to laugh at her jokes.

‘Is there something specific you wanted, Ma’am?’

‘Again with the ma’am? There’s nobody else here.’

Kent tensed a little. ‘As I recall your complaint was being addressed that way while in an… intimate situation.’

Selina waved her hand. ‘Oh, I spoke to Ben about the Gauden thing. He didn’t know anything about it.’

Kent frowned. ‘He denied the photographs or the former mistress?’

‘No, I mean, he didn’t know anything about her trying to sell her story.’

‘And?’

‘And why the fuck doesn’t he know?’

Kent put his hand on his hip, which was a clear sign he was as close to getting exasperated as it was possible for him to get. ‘Ben is never involved in these things. He entirely lacks the necessary discretion.’

Selina shook her head. ‘But this is _his_ fuck-up.’

‘Which makes him even less likely to be discreet,’ Kent said. ‘Ma’am, there is no way to inform someone that their peccadillos have been discovered without their becoming defensive and resentful. Frankly, I get no pleasure from dealing with these situations and I am disliked enough without harvesting more of it.’

Selina scratched her temple. ‘Why do ya get Ben’s goat so much?’

‘Surely Ben would be better placed to answer that.’

‘He’s not here.’

Kent lent forward slightly. ‘For that I envy him.’

She stepped forward. ‘Are you _sassing_ me, Mr Davison?’

His moustache bristled slightly. ‘As I am not a teenager in a fifties movie, no.’

‘Because I would not advise you to _sass_ the leader of the god damn free world.’

‘You are aware that the British, French, Canadians, and many others would take issue with that appellation.’

Selina spread her arms. ‘The tea drinking, cheese eating, maple tree fuckers can come fight me for it. Three rounds, no submissions, fucking knock-out only.’

Kent folded his arms across his chest. ‘Are you enjoying yourself?’

‘Little bit, yeah.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s more fun bickering with you than agreeing with Ben or Bill.’

Kent grunted. ‘Ah. Yes. Bill. Precisely what value he has offered to date, other than driving Mike to ever greater depths of drinking, I am unsure.’

Selina scowled. ‘He upset Mike?’

‘Needling Mike about his job security appears to be his favourite pastime,’ Kent said. ‘Particularly since Amy left.’

‘He was bugging Amy?’ Selina asked.

‘He made it clear to her that he intended to unseat her from her post of campaign manager. I believe it preyed on her mind.’

Selina slammed her hand down onto the desk. ‘That titantic… shit! If I find out that he had something to do with her leaving, I will rip off his balls and wear them as earrings.’

‘Charming,’ Kent said. ‘May I go?’

‘Was kinda hoping for a quickie tonight.’

He pursed his lips. ‘After dinner and a movie it will be too late.’

Selina groaned. ‘I nearly got fucking _shot_ today. Twice! I need some fucking relief.’

Kent glanced at his watch. ‘I can give you perhaps… fifteen minutes of manual or oral stimulation.’

She put her hand to her forehead. ‘In here?’

He shrugged.

She lowered her voice. ‘Did you just offer to blow me? In your office?’

‘ _Your_ office is too public.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘In the context of this conversation that sounded peculiarly euphemistic.’

‘Not to mention really fucking weird.’ She drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘Okay.’ She smirked as he titled his head. ‘Didn’t expect that, didya?’

Kent took off his gloves. ‘Not entirely.’

‘Lock the doors. C’mon. Hustle. Momma needs her happy.’

He paused with his hand on the door, and gave her a look of complete disgust. ‘Momma?’

‘Wow, you are not good at dirty talk,’ Selina said.

‘If bizarre oedipal imagery is required then I am happy to fail.’

Selina locked the other door and sat on his desk.

‘Would you prefer manual or oral?’ he asked, neatly folding her skirt back.

‘Please,’ she scoffed. ‘Do I look like a virgin on prom night trying to get it done before the rental limo finishes for the evening?’

‘I have no idea how to answer that.’

‘Oral, obviously.’ Selina squirmed on the desk as she pushed down her panties. ‘Are we really gonna do this?’

Kent neatly removed his handkerchief, inspected it minutely, and folded it into a square. ‘We may stop at any moment you choose.’

‘Hey buddy, if you wanna play sex chicken you’re gonna lose.’

He opened his mouth and then shut it without saying anything.

‘What the fuck you doing with that?’ she asked, nodding at the handkerchief.

‘Open your mouth.’

Selina snorted. ‘Oh _now_ you wanna be kinky?’

Kent frowned. ‘I have no desire for half the staff to hear you screeching “harder George, harder,” and I doubt you do either.’

‘George? Oh. Yeah. Clooney. Him I’d do on my freaking desk and wouldn’t care who walked in.’

‘Hmm. A delightful story. Open your mouth.’

‘Okay, fine,’ she grumbled.

***

Kent’s fingers were pressing insistently into her thighs. His beard was brushing against her skin. A soft, insistent scratch against her flesh in concert with the flick, flick, swirl of his tongue.

Being gagged without being tied up felt like going to Europe without smoking, or fucking without coming. You could do it, but what the fuck was the point?

She hadn’t been tied up since Andrew. She kinda missed it but she wasn’t dumb enough to let just anyone…

Selina shifted her weight slightly. She heard Kent growl. Something about his hair. She was pulling… pulling his hair. Big… big fuck… big fucking baby…

***

Selina spat out the handkerchief and put it on the side of his desk. ‘Oh Christ,’ she said, climbing clumsily off his desk. ‘I think you gave me a friction burn.’

He was smoothing down his hair. ‘The words that I have longed to hear.’

‘You bitch when I scream about George Clooney, you complain when I tell you that your beard has rubbed my cooch raw, what does it take to make you happy?’ she joked.

Kent brushed his beard with a comb. ‘Silence is always pleasant.’

‘Ate out the wrong person for silence.’ She swung her arms as he buttoned up his coat. ‘Running off to your meal and a movie, huh? Don’t want me to help you out before you go?’

Kent tilted his head as he looked at her.

‘Reciprocation is kinda traditional,’ she said, ‘and polite. I know that’s not a concept you have on planet Davison.’

‘Oh,’ he said. ‘No. Thank you.’

Selina waved her hand. ‘You only said thank you to be polite didn’t ya?’

‘Yes.’ He unlocked both doors and held open the door to Sue’s area. ‘Goodnight.’

Selina scowled as she walked out. ‘You’re the only person I know who’s less courteous the politer you pretend to be.’

He swivelled on his heel to say goodnight to Sue, who looked like she’d swallowed a bug.

Oh shit. Had she heard? She couldn’t have. Nah. Selina hadn’t made that much noise. And he’d fucking gagged her. Dick.

She wasn’t even convinced that Sue had thought anything about the adjoining hotel rooms. Kent was infecting her with his fucking paranoia.

As she walked into the Oval office, she heard Sue say something to Kent in that sharp, sarcastic tone of hers.

But Sue was his ex. That had to be enough reason for her to snark at him.

Coincidence. Coincidence. That’s all. Just a gigantic fucking coincidence.

Yeah. Right. 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

‘Given the extremely limited options available at the time, Kent was the best choice,’ Bill said. ‘He’s an able pollster and a decent staffer. What he’s not, is a campaign manager. His ideas are stale, mass produced, and literally by-the-numbers fare while his decisions have been at best vanilla and at worst timid.’

Selina’s fingers tapped on the desk. Her mouth was tense and her eyes cold as she answered. ‘When you asked for a private meeting, Bill, I kinda thought you had something useful to say.’

He drew himself up. ‘Kent’s the wrong person for the campaign manager position.’

‘Ya know what, the fact that you’re resorting to _this_ tells me that you know you can’t bully him the way you bullied Amy.’

Bill’s face twitched. He held up his hands. ‘I think perhaps that we’re getting off track. The issue here is –’

Selina stood up. ‘Okay, you think you should be the campaign manager. Gotcha. That it? You wanna make a play for Ben’s job? How about mine, ya want my job too?’

Bill took a step back. ‘I can see that my timing is off, so I’m going to go work on… something.’

‘Yeah, you should do that.’

It wasn’t that she was surprised. D.C. was full of backstabbing shits. She knew that, Christ knew she’d had to kiss and make up with some detestable assholes in her time. She still couldn’t quite believe that Furlong, _Furlong_ , was on her team. Hell, it wasn’t that long since she’d considered Kent her own person Darth Fucking Vader.

But Christ, Bill should be better at it than that. Being a contemptible double-crossing shit was one thing but he should at least be _good_ at it.

***

‘What the fuck did Bill want?’ Ben asked sprawling on the couch and loosening his tie.

‘Urgh.’ Selina kicked off her shoes. ‘He felt that it was solemn duty as a _good_ and _loyal_ staffer to point out that, in his opinion, Kent’s not up to the job of campaign manager. Three guesses who he thinks would be better?’

Ben snorted. ‘That took longer than I was expecting.’

‘Can you believe that dickhole? How the fuck is it going to look if I change campaign manager, _again_?’

‘You know he went after Amy pretty hard.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘I know that _now_ , thanks a freaking bunch.’

Ben gave a sloppy shrug. ‘Amy’s no wilting flower. She could take care of herself. Bill didn’t drive her to quit, that was…’ He trailed off at her expression. ‘Can I be the one to tell Kent that Bill’s after his job?’

‘Oh, he knows,’ Selina said. ‘But if you can’t get him fired then Bill’s got no chance.’

Ben propped his head up on his hand. ‘Hey, you’ve never seen me try. It’s way more fun having him around to torment.’

Selina shook her head. ‘Why can’t you boys play nice?’

‘Naughty is more fun.’

Selina raised her eyebrows. ‘Ya wanna maybe rephrase that?’

Ben shuddered. ‘I think someone just walked over the grave of my sex drive.’

‘Great! No more mistresses selling their stories.’

He stuck his finger in his ear and scratched. ‘Least we don’t hafta worry about that with you, right? Not gonna end up with stories about sex on that rug appearing in the National Enquirer.’ Ben pulled out his finger. ‘We’re not, right?’

Selina sat up straighter. ‘ _Excuse_ me?’

‘Look, I don’t know who you’re banging and I don’t care,’ Ben said. ‘But I know you’re banging _someone_. We all know. I just want to be sure –’

‘How _dare_ you? How fucking dare you sit there are try to lecture me on sexual propriety?’

Ben straightened his tie. ‘Because it’s my job. Whatever else is going on, it’s my job to be the one who sits here and asks the unpleasant questions.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘I have been in politics for more than twenty years, and the closest I have _ever_ come to a sex scandal is from the asshole men I have to deal with.’

Ben clasped his hands together. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’

‘There will be no stories showing up in the goddamn National Enquirer or any other fucking thing,’ Selina snarled. ‘Unlike you I put more thought into my sexual partners than whether or not they have a nice ass.’

‘Great.’ Ben stood up and straightened his shirt. ‘Glad we got that sorted out. Feel free to go bang your boy toy with my blessing.’

Selina narrowed her eyes as she watched him leave. ‘Yeah, you say that now,’ she muttered.

***

Selina kicked under the bedsheets. ‘Answer your fucking cell.’

‘It’s yours,’ he grunted.

‘Fuck.’ She rolled over and grabbed her cell. ‘Hello?’

Christ. It was Catherine. Selina knew by the first ragged intake of breath. Every mom knew the sound of her child’s particular sobs and wails. Recognise, yes. Understand what the fuck they were babbling about? Not so much.

With the cell pressed to her ear, Selina rolled over and gave Kent a despairing look.

He mimed drinking a cup of coffee. Selina nodded. She’d rather have a bourbon, but then she’d probably fall asleep.

One or both of them had fallen asleep a few times, but it still felt weird. Kent even managed to sleep in a creepy, inhuman way. He was the only guy she’d been with who didn’t seem to make any sound in his sleep. No snoring. No talking. No grumbling or whacked out animal kinda noises. Nothing. And he slept like the dead. God, Catherine was still going on. Kent was taking an age with the coffee.

Where did he even go for it? Was the only place all the way down in the kitchen or what?

Another couple of minutes and Kent nudged the door open. He’d pulled on some clothes while she’d been distracted. No wonder he’d taken a while.

But he got undressed again and got under the covers to drink his coffee. Selina rolled her eyes. Most guys in his position would take off as fast as they could. It didn’t bother her _as much_ as it did. It’s not like he was really a pain about it. Mostly he just wanted a short nap and then to sit quietly for a while. He liked to tidy up a bit before he went, which was fucking hilarious given the state of his hotel room that time.

Catherine was starting to wind down. Selina took a sip of her coffee.

‘…and I don’t think it’s right that Jason… What was that sound?’

‘What?’ Selina asked. ‘Nothing.’

‘Are you eating?’ Catherine demanded.

Selina groaned inwardly. ‘No, I just had a little sip of my coffee. I don’t want it to get cold.’

There was a long pause. ‘It’s after midnight.’

Selina waved her hand. ‘Sweetie, I need a caffeine enema just to get going in the morning.’

All the tears had disappeared from Catherine’s voice. ‘Who is making you coffee at this time of night?’

Selina glanced a Kent: he was sat up, head tipped back, and eyes closed. Probably deep in thought about graphs, or stats, or something.

‘Catherine, I’m a grown woman,’ she said. ‘I’m allowed to have a friend and he’s allowed to make me a coffee.’

Selina heard Catherine moving around. ‘This is the no-strings guy?’

‘Yes.’

‘The no-strings guy is a “friend” now, is he?’ Catherine asked icily.

Selina groaned, loud enough that Kent blinked open his eyes and looked at her.

Shit.

‘It’s a slip of the tongue,’ Selina said.

Catherine’s response was a wordless but somehow eloquent sound.

‘Look Catherine, you didn’t call to talk about my sex life. You want my advice?’

‘Not really,’ Catherine muttered.

‘There’s a lot of bullshit talked about love and romance,’ Selina said. ‘You know what’s important? Respect. You need someone who’s going to listen to you and take your opinions seriously.’

‘But Mom –’

‘Catherine, it’s gone midnight. I have to go. We’ll catch up tomorrow, okay? Bye.’

Selina thumbed off her cell and threw it down onto the bedside table. ‘Jesus.’

‘This is not an opportune time for them to break up,’ Kent said.

Selina squinted at him. ‘What?’

He shrugged one shoulder. ‘You’re a divorced woman, Catherine being in a happy and successful relationship somewhat ameliorates that.’

‘Shut the fuck up,’ Selina grumbled. ‘I stayed in a shitty relationship for years for the sake of my career. Catherine’s not doing that.’

Kent rubbed his eyebrow. ‘I understood that you and Andrew enjoyed a somewhat… ambivalent relationship.’

Selina gave him a sideways look. ‘We’ve fucked a few times since the divorce. The sex was never the problem.’

He grunted. ‘Not the sex he was having with you.’

‘Can you believe that asshole cheated on _this_?’ she asked.

Kent’s eyes flicked over her. How the fuck did he manage to look at her like that when she was already naked?

‘It does seem improbable,’ he said.

‘Damn right,’ Selina said, primping her hair.

Kent ran his thumb around the lip of his cup and then sucked off the traces of coffee. ‘Is she… upset?’

‘Huh?’

‘Catherine,’ he said.

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘I am so sick of hearing about her love life. Boys don’t go running to their dads whining about their girlfriends.’

Kent raised an eyebrow. ‘Not to our fathers, no.’

‘You run to your _mommy_?’ she asked, gently kicking his ankle.

He shifted position slightly. ‘Traditionally men in our culture are rather uncomfortable discussing emotions.’

Selina snickered. ‘No fucking kidding.’

‘My sisters and my mother have always had a somewhat strained relationship,’ Kent said. ‘I’m quite sure my sisters never felt able to call my mother for romantic advice.’

‘Yeah well, it’s not like Catherine ever listens.’ Selina finished her coffee. ‘I swear to god I talk and she talks, and neither of us really hears a tenth what the other one says.’

If it had been Andrew, he’d have lectured her. If it had been Ted, he’d have counselled patience. If it had been Ray… Christ. He’d probably tell her to go run a couple of laps.

Kent just looked at her.

‘What?’ Selina asked. ‘No clever comment?’

‘What could I possibly tell you about having a child?’ Kent asked. ‘While I can certainly empathise with a failure to communicate, I am in no way able to recommend a remedy.’

Selina relaxed a couple of degrees. ‘I don’t get you people who hate kids.’

‘The parents’ lament - won’t somebody think of the children,’ Kent said sarcastically. ‘Children are parasites who so entirely enslave their hosts that you cannot understand that those of us uninfested are entirely indifferent to them.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Just because _you_ feel indifferent doesn’t mean anyone else does. You are the last person who should imagine the rest of the world feels the same way.’

‘I am always open to being lectured on what constitutes normality from the leader of the entire country.’

Selina gave him a look. He ignored it.

‘Didn’t your biological clock _ever_ tick?’ she asked. ‘Not even once?’

Kent interlaced his fingers and tapped his thumbs together. ‘No, although… No.’

She leant back against the pillows. ‘Well ya gotta explain that one.’

He shrugged. ‘I have, in the past, dated women with children.’ He licked his lips. ‘There’s a peculiar double standard at work. You’re expected to feign interest in the child but not to foster a genuine emotional connection. Forging a friendship with a child that is not yours is, _at best_ , treated as deeply suspicious. Then, when the relationship comes to an end, you become the latest in the long line of adults who have disappointed and abandoned them.’

‘Well… fuck,’ Selina said. ‘Now I’m really fucking glad I was never stupid enough to date when Catherine was a kid.’

Kent shrugged. ‘A wise decision.’

Selina shuddered a little. ‘What was the kid’s name?’

‘Amelia.’

‘Good name,’ Selina said. ‘How old?’

‘Uh, seven.’

‘Good age,’ Selina said. ‘Too old for temper tantrums and too young for teenage bullshit.’

Kent glanced at his watch. ‘I suppose that I should leave before you hit me on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.’

‘Somewhere to be?’

He shook his head as he got out of bed. ‘No. However I am capable of recognising a pattern when it presents itself.’

Selina pushed her hair back from her face. ‘We’ve got a long day tomorrow. Stay if you want.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘In one of the spare rooms?’

She yanked back the covers. ‘Just be gone before six, okay?’

***

Catherine poked her plate of pancakes with her fork. ‘Are we going to talk about your friend?’

Selina made a muffled noise through her mouthful of food.

‘Because it seems like this has been going on for a while.’

Selina swallowed her food. ‘Sweetie, I’m the president of the united states and you… you’re the first daughter! We have so much more to talk about than some guy.’

Catherine’s expression was unwavering. ‘Mom, I did not live through the hell that was my childhood and adolescence for you to throw away the presidency on some stupid sex scandal, such as you fucking a married secret service guy.’

‘Hey, language!’

‘I’m not a child, mom. I’m getting married. I can certainly say _fuck_ if and when I think it’s appropriate.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘And you think it’s appropriate at the kitchen table?’

‘Please don’t change the subject.’

Selina sat back in her chair. ‘For your information, I have _never_ had a relationship with a married man.’

Catherine took a bite of her pancake. ‘He’s not married.’

‘God, no.’

Catherine tapped her fork on the plate. ‘Well there’s obviously _something_ horrifically wrong with him. Is he a serial killer? A communist? A _republican_? Mom, _please_ tell me that he’s not underage.’

Selina almost choked on her coffee. ‘None of the above.’

‘Mom, this thing with this guy has been going on for weeks, months maybe. Do you know how often I can smell his cologne on you? I can smell it a lot. A _lot._ ’

Selina wiped her mouth and pushed her plate away. ‘I have a healthy sex drive, Catherine, and I’m not gonna apologise for that.’

‘Not the point, Mom,’ Catherine said.

‘Hey, ya had the whole of breakfast to make your point and you didn’t,’ Selina said.

***

‘Hey, you know when I was a kid my mom used to say women who painted their toenails were fast,’ Selina snickered as she waggled her manicured toes.

‘My mom says the same about red varnish,’ Gary said. ‘She doesn’t really follow fashion,’ he added quickly.

‘Good job for me she’s not here to see me wearing a matching dress with my fabulous tits and ass on show.’

‘The dress looks great,’ Gary promised.

‘Wasted on Gauden.’ Selina squinted at herself in the mirror. ‘Hope he likes men in black tie. We’ve got them in just about every freaking size and shape.’ She looked at Gary. ‘You can tell men are in charge of fashion. All men have to do is slap on a tuxedo, black tie, and shoes but women have to chose from about eighty thousand combinations of styles, material, and colour. And don’t even start me on freaking shoes!’

Gary looked at the two pairs of shoes he was holding and quickly shoved them behind his back.

‘Jesus, look at these black rings under my eyes,’ Selina complained. ‘I look like I ran face first into a door.’

‘I read that the stress of being president, aged Clinton by twenty years,’ Gary said, waving the pair of shoes with the stiletto heels.

Selina looked at him. ‘Gee, thanks, Gary. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.’ She waved her hand at him. ‘Show me the freaking shoes.’

She watched him silently fussing.

‘Hey, Gary?’

‘Hmm?’ He looked up from his position on the floor.

‘You still seeing that, uh, Dana?’

A shadow passed over his face. ‘That didn’t work out.’

‘Oh.’ She played with the corner of her dress. ‘Well, that’s her loss.’

‘Thank you,’ Gary said with an alarming clear-eyed sincerity. ‘I really did hope that we could…’

Christ, it was like someone pulling a cork out of a barrel.

‘Did you ever date someone with kids?’ Selina asked, cutting across his flow.

Gary blinked as his mouth ran on a few words. ‘Uh… once, well sort of.’

‘Sorta?’ Selina asked. ‘Sorta dating or sorta kids? What’re we talking about here, Gary, were you stalking her or did she have a bunch of cats she called her babies?’

Gary sat on the chair next to her. ‘My parents hadn’t had “the talk” with me and I didn’t realise you had to… make love to make a baby,’ he admitted. ‘She told me that I got her pregnant from kissing her.’

Selina snickered. ‘What were you like, eleven or –’

‘Twenty-eight,’ Gary admitted.

‘Oh.’ Selina wrinkled her nose. ‘Bit of a sheltered upbringing, huh?’

‘Little bit.’ Gary shrugged. ‘When her ex-boyfriend was released on parole she decided that the baby should be raised by his daddy.’

Selina licked her lips. ‘Gee that’s…’

There was a brisk rap at the door before it was thrown open and Ben wandered in.

‘Ma’am, we’re at b-minus fifteen,’ Ben announced. ‘Nice dress.’

‘Thanks.’ Selina stepped into her shoes and stood up. ‘Do I wanna know what the B stands for?’

‘Bastard,’ Ben said, adjusting his suspenders. ‘As in, fifteen minutes until that bastard Gauden arrives. Are these level? I fucking hate suspenders, they give me back ache.’

‘Breathing gives you backache,’ Selina said. ‘Okay, off to beard the lion in his den.’ She stopped and thought about it. ‘Wait, that’d be going to see him in his place.’

Ben scratched his eyebrow. ‘Yeah, he’s come to beard you in your den. You know, if you had a beard.’

‘I tried to grow a beard once,’ Gary said. ‘It came in all patchy. My dad said only real men can grow facial hair.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘My facial waxing regime begs to differ.’ 

‘I fucking hate facial hair,’ Ben said. ‘Goddamn hipsters and lumbersexuals.’

‘Two words I never thought I’d hear associated with Kent,’ Selina said.

‘Or Richard Gauden,’ Gary said. ‘He’s grown a pencil moustache and a chinstrap beard.’

Ben lumbered back towards the door. ‘Great, the more time he has to spend manicuring his beard, the less time he has to dig around in our business.’

Selina checked her lipstick in the mirror. ‘Gary, any conversational topics that won’t encourage Ben to throw down with Gauden?’

Gary stood up and straightened his tie. ‘Ooh, college might be fun.’

Selina and Ben looked at him.

‘He and Kent met in college,’ Gary said. ‘Maybe he has some fun stories.’

Ben groaned. ‘Anecdotes about pie charts and statistical analysis. Be still my fucking heart.’

***

Chad Gauden was the prettiest man that Selina had ever seen. Corn blond hair. Azure blue eyes. Lush dark eyelashes. Pouty lips. Cheekbones you could ski down.

Selina thought he looked like some kinda freaking alien masquerading as a male model. No human being should look so… symmetrical. It was creepy as fuck. _He_ was creepy as fuck and Selina really wished that he wasn’t sat almost opposite her.

And he had a voice like he’d come out of the womb smoking thirty a day and drinking bourbon with every meal.

Then Gary put a glass cup of something lemon scented and gently steaming at Chad’s elbow.

‘Honey and lemon,’ Gary said. ‘I noticed that you had a little frog in your throat.’

Knives and forks scraped across fine china plates.

‘I understand that congratulations are in order,’ Tom said. ‘I hear that you boys just tied the knot.’

‘Like six months ago,’ Chad said, squeezing Gauden’s hand.

‘Hmm, that’s almost as long as you were dating,’ Kent murmured.

‘How sweet of you to keep such close track,’ Gauden said.

Ben planted his elbow on the table. ‘People who think love is a hormonal disturbance don’t get to lecture other people on their love lives.’

Kent gestured with his fork. ‘Studies have shown that the brain chemistry of people in love is remarkably similar to the brain chemistry of people with severe obsessive compulsive disorders.’

‘So, would you care to like cite your sources?’ Chad asked. ‘Were they double-blind? Are they, like, reproducible?’

Selina waved her hands. ‘Please don’t. I spend all day listening to studies on this and reports on that. By this time in the evening I have just about had all the data I can handle.’

‘Do you really think love is nothing more than a chemical disturbance?’ Catherine asked, leaning a little closer to Kent.

‘I never said that,’ he protested. ‘Ben enjoys ascribing extreme opinions to me.’

Gauden took a sip of his wine. ‘You must admit it’s an extreme opinion that’s remarkably easy to believe of you.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘Is it?’

Gauden grinned widely. ‘For people who don’t know you as well as I do.’

Chad shook his head. ‘I am sitting _right_ here.’

In the sudden, awkward silence, Selina took a gulp of her wine.

‘Perhaps an apology would be appropriate,’ Kent said to Gauden.

‘I don’t need you to fight my battles,’ Chad growled.

Ben rubbed his hands together. ‘Is there any popcorn?’

Tom cleared his throat. ‘I feel like I’ve wandered into someone’s family drama. I don’t know if I should leave or eat popcorn with Ben.’

Kent waved his hand. ‘It amuses Richard to consider himself an agent of chaos.’

Gauden murmured something into Chad’s ear. The young man glowered silently before subsiding.

Selina tapped her fork on her plate. ‘So, you guys went to college together?’

Gauden sneered. ‘Do I scent the assistance of your remora fish?’

Selina gripped her fork and stared him out. She heard Kent tell Gauden shouldn’t insult Gary.

‘I’m the President of the United States,’ Selina said icily. ‘I know the names, partners, children, and political problems of every other foreign leader in the _world_. Forgive me if the fine details of some piddling little publisher isn’t quite on the same level to me.’

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ben grow pale.

Gauden looked at Kent, and then back at Selina.

‘A politician defending her subordinate, are you in the right job?’

‘Ya know, there are times that I wonder,’ she said. ‘But not right now.’

Chad poured himself another glass of wine and turned to Gauden. ‘I don’t want to be the guy that agrees with _him,_ ’ he gestured at Kent, ‘but being rude about the help is tacky.’

Gauden held up his hand in acquiescence. ‘Yes, Kent and I were at college together. About a million years ago.’

‘We shared a house,’ Kent said. ‘That is to say, the young ladies renting the house allowed first Richard and then myself to move in.’

Ben poured a large glass of wine. ‘So there was you, _you_ , and a bunch of college girls?’ He exchanged smirks with Tom. ‘Was that _Sorority Shenanigans 4_ or _5_?’ 

Kent cleared his throat. ‘They were ladies who generally preferred the company of other ladies.’

Tom nodded thoughtfully. ‘Definitely _5_ ,’ he said.

 ***

‘What’s that cologne you’re wearing?’ Catherine asked.

Kent blinked at her. ‘What?’

‘Your cologne,’ Catherine said. ‘It’s very distinctive.’ She glanced at Selina.

Shit.

Kent hadn’t a freaking clue. He was looking at Catherine like she’d asked him to show her his freaking third arm.

‘I don’t wear cologne.’

‘I can smell it,’ Catherine insisted.

Chad rolled his eyes. ‘She means your beard oil. Richard used to wear a similar one until I bought him something higher quality.’

Gauden gave the younger man a chiding look. ‘There’s no need to be petty.’

‘It’s Wisdom, I believe,’ Kent said to Catherine. ‘Richard bought it me for Christmas.’

Catherine gave him a blankly polite smile. ‘That’s nice.’ She looked over at Selina. ‘Isn’t that nice, mom?’

‘Yeah,’ Selina forced a smile. ‘That’s… great.’


	5. Chapter 5

 

Selina slumped down onto her bed to take off her shoes. She’d known the evening was gonna be rough but she’d had some fun hearing Gauden’s thinly-veiled scandalous stories. Right up until Catherine had decided to go all freaking Columbo on her.

Kent had no damn idea. Well, he’d figured out that there was something going on. He hadn’t asked though. Probably reckoned it was some family thing.

After a shower, Selina slipped between the sheets. Christ knew that being single had a shitload of benefits over being married. But there were times when it’d be nice if there was someone there. Someone to sit in bed next to and just chat with. She could’ve gone for that right about then. Not for fucking, just to talk about her day, listen to him talk about his day.

Her cell chimed. Selina groaned. She freaking hated the thing. She could send simple texts and answer calls. Anything else was brains cells she needed for the Middle East, North Korea, or that dick O’Brien.

It was a text: _About to leave. Do you need me before I go? – Kent._

About to go? What the fuck was he… Selina shook her head. She didn’t ask Ben, Kent, and the other senior staff how they accomplished the less salubrious aspects of their jobs. Politics was a sausage machine and Selina didn’t care to know about the meat being scraped from the floor and the former parts of former employees that had to be pried out of the machinery.

For a moment Selina thought about asking him to come up. She wasn’t horny but… No. That was ridiculous. What the fuck was she thinking?

_No, you can go home_ – she texted back and turned off the lamp.

***

Catherine had a real puritanical streak. Selina was freaking sure that she got a real kick out of pulling her best disappointed face and telling Selina exactly how she’d let her down. Right. Because Selina didn’t know when she’d fucked up. Catherine wasn’t a freaking kid any more. It was about time she realised that Selina didn’t do these things because she wanted to, or because she was some kind of a sadist. Her life was full of shitty choices and she did the best she could. Most people made shitty decisions because they thought they were the best ones at the time.

Apart from assholes. Plenty of them probably made shitty choices because they were assholes. The two things went together.

Catherine was nibbling on a piece of toast in the kitchen. She folded her arms as Selina collected a coffee and slumped down at the table.

‘Should I set a third place?’ Catherine asked archly.

‘What?’

‘Will Kent be joining us for breakfast or is he hiding in your bedroom until I leave?’

Selina rolled her eyes as she reached for the toast. ‘He wasn’t here last night.’

‘So you’re not going to try to pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about?

Selina winced as she scraped butter across her toast. ‘Would that work?’

‘No.’

‘Then I wasn’t going to try it.’ Selina took a bite of her toast.

Catherine shook her head. ‘That’s it, no explanation?’

‘What’s to explain? I already told you this is a sex thing. I feel horny. We have sex.’

Catherine shuddered.

‘Oh, don’t be such a drama queen,’ Selina snapped. ‘You know I’m not a freaking nun.’

‘You I can cope with,’ Catherine said. ‘Not thrilled about but I can cope with. But Kent seems so… asexual, antiseptic, and emotionless.’ She eyed the butter thoughtfully. ‘You can’t be that hard up, Mom. Isn’t it like having sex with a statue?’

Selina waved her knife. ‘The sex is great.’

Catherine looked like someone had tried telling her that the earth was made of live chickens. ‘Mom, this is me. I’ve met Kent. Sure he’s smart and he’s great at his job but he’s terrible at being a person.’ She pointed at the microwave. ‘That thing probably has more personality.’

‘He’s a person, Catherine, okay? You don’t know the first thing about him.’

Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, _please_ , like you do? Be honest, mom, he’s still the guy who pissed you off by having dad hang around during Hughes’ campaign and that’s all he’s ever gonna be.’

‘Not true. That’s not true.’

‘Okay.’ Catherine folded her arms. ‘Okay, tell me about Kent. Something you actually know about him that you didn’t hear in gossip or from Gary.’

Selina scowled. ‘Hey, I know a _lot_ , okay? I pay attention.’

Catherine shrugged. ‘Not hearing that one thing, the one thing I asked you for.’

‘His mom has dementia,’ Selina blurted.

‘Oh my God, how awful!’

‘I know, right? Selina shook her head. ‘He has sisters but he’s the one getting stuck dealing with it.’ A tiny twinge of something that in someone else might’ve been conscience tickled at Selina. ‘We haven’t really talked about it. He’s one of those guys who freak out when they have emotions about… anything.’

‘Probably a first time for him,’ Catherine said.

‘I’m sorry, I thought we were having a grown-up conversation but apparently we’re exchanging snarky comments about our lovers,’ Selina said. ‘Is it my turn to talk about Jason yet?’

Catherine tapped her knife on the table. ‘I thought you said it was just sex.’

‘It is. Just _great_ sex,’ Selina said.

‘Mom, I’ve heard you call Kent just about every name under the sun,’ Catherine said. ‘Now suddenly you’re defending him.’

‘Yeah, well, we’re on the same team now. Ya gotta pull together.’ She rolled her eyes at her daughter’s expression. ‘This is politics.’

Catherine pulled a face. ‘I know that expression about politics making strange bedfellows isn’t supposed to be literal.’

Selina sipped her coffee. ‘You’ve been waiting this whole conversation for that one, huh?’

Catherine poured sugar into her coffee. ‘When else is it going to be so appropriate?’ She stirred briskly. ‘Hey, speaking of that: what was up with Gauden flirting with Kent?’

‘I know! Right? I thought I was the only one who noticed that.’ Selina tapped her thumb on her cup. ‘Ben had said something about Kent batting his eyes at Gauden but I figured that was just Ben being Ben.’

Catherine stopped, cup of coffee halfway to her mouth. ‘Kent batting his eyes?’

Selina waved her hand. ‘Ben, right? Whaddya gonna do?’

‘But that Chad guy, he’s married to Gauden?’

‘That Chad _child_ ,’ Selina said.

‘At least he’s good looking,’ Catherine said, a little wistfully. ‘I don’t get what either of you see in Kent.’

Selina snorted. ‘I’m not exactly sure what you see in Jason if we’re comparing notes.’

‘Well, it’s still tacky giving someone the eye when you’re at dinner with your spouse.’

‘Hell, yeah.’

***

Disaster. Selina had her head in her hands.

‘I hate to say I told you so,’ Tom said. ‘But, I told you so.’

‘In what fucking universe is that remotely helpful?’ Selina hissed. She swept the printouts of Kent’s latest polls off the table. ‘How did this sneak up on us?’

Kent spread his hands out. ‘We have taken every reasonable step to counter the rising tide of public opinion however man cannot stand against the sea.’

‘Thank you King fucking Canute,’ Ben said.

Kent took a Kleenex from the box and wiped his nose. Mike edged away from him.

Ben heaved a breath. ‘It’s time to face the facts. We gotta Kill Bill.’

Selina blinked. ‘What?’

‘That was masterful,’ Tom said. ‘Although I query the timing.’

Selina turned to Mike, who was still looking at Kent as if he could see the germs crawling off him and along the floor.

‘Mike, translation?’ Selina said. ‘You speak gibberish.’

Mike’s moustache bristled as he frowned. ‘ _Kill Bill_ is a Quentin Tarantino movie with Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu.’

‘And Vivica A Fox,’ Kent added.

Selina narrowed her eyes at Ben. ‘You feel better you’ve made your shitty pun?’

His shrug was slightly sheepish. ‘Gotta grab your moment when it arrives.’

Mike was gathering together his things. ‘If this is going to turn into a discussion about sabotaging our own bill then I’m going to…’ He jerked his thumb towards the door.

‘Yeah, I should probably move onto the other side of that Chinese wall as well,’ Tom said, standing up.

Selina shook her head as the two men left. ‘Anyone else wanna jump off the sinking ship?’

Kent stretched and sagged back against his seat. ‘Given the delicate ethical issues we’re skirting up against it might be best to restrict the amount of individuals directly involved in the planning stages.’

Selina blew out her cheeks. ‘Are we really gonna do this?’

Kent and Ben exchanged looks.

‘Pushing the Meyer Bill through could do a ton of good for low income families,’ Ben said. ‘It would be a brave choice.’

Selina shuddered. ‘Yeah, we all know what brave choices mean.’

‘If the bill passes then the campaign is fucked,’ Ben said.

‘Without the bill what’re our chances?’ Selina asked.

‘Close,’ Kent said. ‘Without the Meyer Bill it could go either way.’

Selina stood up and walked to the window. It was a bright, crisp day outside. The kind of day which demanded a soundtrack of birdsong and children’s laughter. ‘So we could abandon all the hard work we’ve done, the chance to bring so many American children out of poverty, and gain absolutely nothing.’

‘That’s a possibility,’ Kent said in a quiet voice with a hint of roughness. ‘The alternative is that you will win the election and, in time, have another opportunity.’

Selina turned back to them. ‘That is some shitty _Sophie’s Choice_ bullshit right there.’

***

He didn’t knock. Selina looked up when she heard the door open. He lent against the doorpost and folded his arms across his chest.

‘What the fuck are you still doing here?’ Selina snarled.

Kent shrugged. ‘You’re highly stressed and greatly irritated. I’ve observed that those are the circumstances under which you’re most likely to want aggressive or bellicose coitus.’

‘If Sue is out there I swear to fucking God by the time I’m done you won’t be able to get a job working for a city councilman in Bumfuck, Wyoming.’

‘There’s nobody out here,’ Kent said.

‘Bellicose coitus,’ Selina muttered, shoving back her chair. ‘Only you.’   

‘Are you disputing the facts as presented?’

‘Shut up and get ready to fuck me.’ She grabbed his tie as she walked past. ‘Bellicosely.’

***

She didn’t expect the slap. The flat palm of his hand against the curve of her ass. Selina growled, and her fingers fisted in the sheets. She was bent over. Her choice. He slapped first one cheek and then the other. Then he gripped her thighs.

She didn’t expect the slap. But it felt like a touch of chilli in chocolate or a scatter of salt in caramel.

She pushed back as he thrust forward. Warmth flushed her face. Perspiration prickled across her forehead.

Kent rolled slowly from his heels to the balls of his feet, and then back again, changing his angle.

‘Deeper,’ she demanded, shifting her weight forward.

His fingers bit into her thighs as he lifted her. ‘Better?’

She started to agree but what came out was a low, guttural babble.

Kent sneezed. ‘Apologies.’

Selina didn’t even notice.

***

‘I look like one of those freaking baboons,’ Selina muttered, looking at herself in the mirror.

‘What?’ Kent called from the shower.

‘I said I look like I’m trying to pull one of those baboons with the gigantic red asses.’

‘You seemed sufficiently pleased at the time,’ Kent called back.

Selina pulled her panties back into place. She was gonna have to sleep on her side. Worth it. But there was no way she’d tell him that.

She looked at the back of her hands. She’d been told that’s where age showed. Can’t hide how old your hands are. Hers didn’t look like old hands. She thought they looked pretty young. Supple.

But she felt like time was rushing away, pouring through her fingers and pooling on the floor. She’d been working towards the presidency all her career, running pell-mell into her future. When she became president there was supposed to be time to catch her breath. To _enjoy_ her life. She was going to be graceful, dignified, and powerful. Damn it. Instead she was still running, flailing, and desperately fighting to make a mark on the world.

She realised that the shower had stopped running. She looked up. Kent was stood in the doorway, towel wrapped loosely around his hips, watching her.

‘Can you believe Ben and his fucking jokes?’ Selina said, the words falling over each other.

His brows pulled together slightly. ‘He’s Ben. Sarcasm and cynicism frequently appear to be the only things preventing him from pitching into despair.’

‘Don’t forget the Cymbalta and Librium. Ben likes his bourbon straight and his meds mixed.’

It was still a little too fast, a little forced. If Kent noticed, then he didn’t say anything. He was still watching her.

‘You, uh, you’re looking kinda pale,’ Selina said.

‘A mild head cold, I suspect,’ he said.

‘You can quit staring at me any time you’re ready.’

Kent waved his hand. ‘Apologies.’

‘No explanation?’

He walked across the room towards the bed. ‘None that you would wish to hear.’

‘Yeah well I –’

‘Mom, did you take my –’ Catherine shoved open the bedroom door. She took in Kent, towel and all, and blushed slightly. ‘Geez, mom, you could put a sock on the door or something.’

Selina threw her hands up. ‘Well you could freaking _knock_! This is my _private_ bedroom, Catherine, not a damn dorm.’

Catherine’s gaze was sliding with uneasy inevitability towards Kent. Even from here Selina could see beads of water glistening in his neatly maintained chest hair. 

‘Hey!’ Selina snapped her fingers. ‘If the building isn’t burning down then you’re on the wrong side of the door.’

Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘Because when I woke up this morning I thought “hey, today I should walk in on my mom and her half-naked lover,” and here I am. Living the dream.’ She glanced at Kent and gave him an awkward sort of wave as she left. ‘Uh, bye.’

Kent gave her an uncomfortable half-smile then raised his hand and waggled his fingers.

‘I have to get a lock,’ Selina muttered, stomping over and putting a chair in front of the door.

Kent put his hands on his hips. ‘Uh.’

‘What?’

‘Catherine,’ he said. ‘She was surprised to find _someone_  here, but not that it was me.’

Selina pulled on her pyjamas. ‘Yeah, she worked it out the other day.’ She registered his expression. ‘When she was going on about your cologne? She said she’d smelled it on me. How that’d work when I always shower I don’t fucking know.’

‘You neglected to tell me that she knew,’ he said.

‘Well you know now.’

‘And if she hadn’t wandered in when would you have told me?’

Selina shook her head. ‘What’s your problem? You’ve slept with other women who had kids.’

‘I’ve dated women with children,’ he said. ‘The situation very quickly becomes extremely complex when what you desire is inherently very simple.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘We are _not_ dating.’

‘No, and Catherine is a grown woman rather than a child. Nonetheless, she and I are on occasion required to work together. Her knowing about this inevitably makes that more complicated.’

‘God, I cannot wait for you to fuck up and tell someone so I can lecture you,’ Selina said. ‘It’ll probably be Gauden and then we’ll all be screwed.’

‘I don’t discuss my sex life with Richard.’ Kent finally started to dry himself.

‘Does Boo-Boo get jealous?’ Selina sneered.

She was surprised that he didn’t react with even faint annoyance or irritation. Instead he sighed.

‘When we initially meet an individual we risk setting that immediate impression as our default view of them,’ he said. ‘Parents who struggle to accept their children are grown adults for example.’

‘Yeah, like my mother for one.’

Kent swiped the towel across his chest. ‘My point is that Richard’s default image of me is faulty. He forgets that experience is the enemy of idealism. We met a very long time ago when we both extremely young and somewhat… idealistic. He conflates nostalgia with desire.’

Selina sat down on the end of the bed. ‘Kinda hard to picture that vicious bastard as an idealist.’

‘The bitterest cynics are often failed idealists or wounded romantics,’ Kent said. ‘Look at Ben.’

‘Thank fuck you didn’t say me.’ She wagged her finger at him. ‘I’d be pissed.’

‘And I would be woefully inaccurate.’ Kent began dressing. ‘A bitter cynic would’ve never attempted the Meyer Bill.’

Selina scowled at him. ‘So idealism is another word for idiocy. Thanks.’

He looked up, fingers still on the buttons of his shirt. ‘Mount Everest is littered with the bodies of climbers who tried and failed. Their deaths don’t make the achievements of the successful less meaningful. That they failed doesn’t make the attempt any less laudable.’

Selina shrugged. ‘From what passes for your tone of voice, I guess that’s supposed to be comforting but all I heard was failure and death.’

‘You attempted something of genuine value,’ Kent said. ‘Even in failure the attempt is important. Perhaps you will try again and succeed. Perhaps someone else will succeed. Either way you made the attempt.’

‘If you think someone else using my _failure_ as a stepping stone is a comfort,’ Selina said, ‘then you’re an idiot.’

***

Catherine wandered into the kitchen when Selina was making herself a breakfast tray.   

‘Well look at you awake before midday on a Sunday,’ Selina said.

Catherine pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘If breakfast in bed is an option I might get up early more often.’ She stole a strawberry from Selina’s plate.

Selina slapped her hand. ‘In this house, which is the White House, breakfast in bed is strictly presidents only.’

‘I hope that Kent’s not too disappointed,’ Catherine said sweetly.

‘He went home last night.’

‘I know.’ Catherine turned on the coffee machine.

Selina paused in the doorway and eyed Catherine suspiciously. ‘How do you know?’

‘I was still looking for my charger when he was leaving.’

Selina relaxed. ‘Oh, so you just saw him. It’s not like you had some awkward conversation or something.’

‘No, we did,’ Catherine said. ‘It was very awkward. I mean, talking to Kent is always a little peculiar. He’s not exactly the most socially adept.’

‘Shit.’

‘He tried to make small talk.’

‘Oh God.’

Catherine nodded. ‘Did you know that the secret service guys have a code for when you’re having sex? Because that’s a thing I know now.’

‘Yeah, yeah they say I’m “discussing the Bosnian problem” with, uh, whoever,’ Selina said weakly. 

‘I wish they’d said _something_ to me rather than letting me wander in on you guys having sex.’

‘You know they’re not allowed to interfere in stuff.’ Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Besides, I was sat on the bed and Kent had just come out of the shower. If that’s how you think people have sex, then I guess I don’t have to worry about becoming a grandma anytime soon.’

‘Nit-picking, great,’ Catherine said. ‘He’s rubbing off on you.’

They shared an uncomfortable look.

‘That came out wrongly,’ Catherine said with a shudder. ‘Fortunately I’m already completely scarred. Just think, Mom, you could make a real mark in history. If you went out with Sue you’d be the first female, bisexual president in an interracial relationship. Ooh, or you could have a three-way with Kent and Sue!’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘You done? Had your laughs?’

Catherine shrugged. ‘At least this one isn’t a meathead. Or dad.’

‘Well, don’t make it freaking weird,’ Selina said. ‘He’s thinks you knowing is going to make it difficult for you to work together.’

Catherine pulled a face. ‘Mom, you’re sleeping with Kent, it’s already weird.’

Selina pulled open the kitchen door. ‘And don’t forget to get changed before church. Gotta look humble and respectful and all that shit.’

‘Jason and I are thinking of a Buddhist ceremony for the wedding.’

Selina scoured her with a look. ‘Don’t even start with me.’

***

The day had been going okay, not great, but okay. No disasters. No embarrassments. No tragedies. She was especially glad there were no tragedies, she’d already worn her “mournful black ensemble” three times that month. People were starting to make comments.

Selina made a note to buy another outfit for national tragedies. Or two, to be on the safe side.

It was late when Selina got a call from a friend. Well, a colleague whom she could tolerate enough to be friendly with and who she had little enough contact with that the delicate pretence of amiability wasn’t destroyed. Friends in politics were difficult. Friends on the congressional oversight committee were worth their weight in freaking gold.

It was later when Selina had scraped together enough information to call the boys. Ben was too drunk to be helpful. Kent mumbled something about dealing with in the morning and then put the phone down.

Christ. Even the old faithful standbys were letting her down.

***

Selina’s hand tapped irritably against her hip as she strode over to Sue’s desk.

‘Where the fuck is Kent?’ Selina asked.

‘Mr Davison has called in sick,’ Sue said.

‘The fuck he has. He doesn’t get to be sick! _I_ don’t get to sick.’

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘I personally would prefer he not be here spreading germs everywhere. That flu is running rampant.’

Selina bit back her reply. It didn’t do to antagonise Sue. She could be sneaky as well as vicious.

‘Yeah, well, unfortunately his country and his president need him. So call him up.’

Sue stared at her.

‘What? Call him up. Chop, chop.’

Sue picked up the phone. ‘I will alert the national guard to prepare for a pandemic.’

‘Kent flu,’ Gary muttered. He flushed under their twin glares.

Sue had the phone to her ear. ‘This is Sue Wilson from the White House. I need to speak to Mr Davison. Hmm. Mmm. I see. Wait a moment.’ She put the phone on mute and looked at Selina. ‘Mr Davison is asleep. Apparently he’s been asleep since yesterday afternoon and has only just arisen to use the bathroom.’

‘Ew,’ Gary said.

‘Who’re you talking to?’

‘Devon,’ Sue said.

Selina looked at her blankly.

‘His sister,’ Gary offered.

‘Oh,’ Selina tapped the desk with her knuckles. ‘Well, I want an update every two hours.’

Shit. Stoic Sue’s eyes widened a fraction at that.

***

Ben played with the lanyard of his staff pass. ‘How definite is this?’

Selina shook her head. ‘It’s definite that they’re asking questions about the data breach. Right now they don’t have enough for much beyond suspicions.’

‘So we shut down the scapegoat.’ Ben put his hands on his waist. ‘Who’ve we got that can sweet talk her?’

Bill raised an eyebrow. ‘This is the girl that has the social skills of a rock and memorability of a nineties fashion trend? Also, the style skills of a nineties fashion trend.’

‘You planning on getting to a point any time soon, champ?’ Ben asked.

‘That _was_ my point,’ Bill said. ‘She’s a weird, unlikeable loner with no social skills.’  

Ben nodded. ‘So we get Kent to speak to her.’

Selina frowned as she looked at Gary. ‘What, why’re you nodding?’

‘He knew her name,’ Gary said.

‘Wow, that’s a really deep connection right there,’ Selina said.

But he’d argued that she shouldn’t be fired, hadn’t he? So maybe there was something there. Or he actually remembered who she was, which at this point was an improvement.

‘She’s a robot, he’s a robot, it’s totally logical, Captain,’ Ben said.

Selina ignored him. ‘Kent’s off sick.’

Bill’s insincere smile oozed across his face like oil gliding on water. ‘Well God forbid we disturb him while he’s got the sniffles.’

Ben gripped his waistband and adjusted his trousers. ‘I guess I could go rattle his cage.’

Bill gave a viciously sweet smile. ‘I’m sure open hostility is exactly what the man needs.’

‘You wanna try me being secretly hostile you smarmy piece of shit?’ Ben asked.

‘Christ, Kent’s been out of the office for barely three hours and you’re trying to pick a fight with some other guy,’ Selina said. ‘Where’s your loyalty?’

Ben shrugged easily. ‘I’m polyslanderous.’

Selina smirked slightly. ‘That one I liked.’

Bill held up his hands. ‘Whatever, we need someone to talk to the girl sooner rather than later. If Kent’s not up to the job then someone else will have to do it.’

Ben’s face twisted in disgust. ‘Jesus, Bill, what next? You gonna go around with some polonium-210 sushi for the guy?’

Selina threw up her hands. ‘I’m surrounded by freaking children. I’ll go talk to Kent, okay. I’m sure there’s campaign stuff to discuss anyway.’

Bill blinked. ‘Sure, if you want to go running around after the man. I’m sure that’s a completely appropriate thing for the president to be doing.’

Selina put her hands on her hips. ‘You know, Bill, your unhelpful and sarcastic attitude is really starting to get on my tits.’ She poked him in the chest. ‘Look to that if you wanna do well here.’

***

 It was a weird situation. She wasn’t on her way to see Kent because she was worried or anything. He just had a freaking cold or something. Okay? No big deal. And if her staff weren’t such a bunch of assholes she wouldn’t be having to do this. Ben hated Kent. Bill would clearly do pretty much do whatever to undermine him. Gary was an idiot. Mike and Tom had run off rather than deal with the situation, and Sue was Kent’s ex. Why couldn’t these people more fucking _professional_?

Given the way that he decorated his office, Selina half-expected Kent to live on a houseboat or something. Instead, he had a smart townhouse in Georgetown. Kinda small to Selina’s taste but of course he didn’t have a family.

A woman answered the door. Selina felt her hackles rise. Hadn’t he said he wasn’t dating? Or had he just said he wasn’t dating Sue? Shit.

‘Oh, I was rather hoping you were the pizza delivery,’ the woman said archly. She was quite a bit taller than Selina, with a pageboy haircut, and fine features.

‘Yeah, one of the secret service guys here will bring it through if it turns up,’ Selina said briskly. ‘Ya gonna let me in keep me on the doorstep?’

‘If you’re here to see Kent, here’s really not up to visitors.’

‘He’ll see me,’ Selina insisted.

The other woman raised an eyebrow but stepped aside. She was dressed in smart-casual clothes with restrained makeup and a delicate, light perfume.

‘I didn’t get your name,’ Selina said.

‘Goodness, I thought your jack-booted thugs outside had a dossier on everyone,’ the woman said sweetly.

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Sure, but there’s a lot of snotty, stroppy, middle-aged blondes around. Gotta narrow it down a bit.’

The blonde turned on the ridiculous chrome monstrosity passing for a coffee machine. ‘Devon Davison Coombs.’ She smiled faintly at Selina’s blank expression. ‘Kent is my younger brother.’

‘Christ, he’s younger than you?’ Selina asked.

‘It’s the hair,’ Devon said. ‘When he stopped dyeing it, he looked like he aged twenty years.’

‘Huh.’ Selina lent back against the worktop. ‘Didn’t figure him vain.’

‘He’s not particularly. But he went grey young. Completely grey by thirty-five. It doesn’t make a good impression for work, it seems.’

‘Not at that age. Men can get away with it when they’re older. When I die I might be nothing but a pile of hip replacements and dentures,’ Selina pointed at her head, ‘but by God I will not have a single grey hair.’

Devon smiled. ‘I’m sure people realised. He could never find a colour that looked like his own and people don’t naturally turn from sandy blond to caramel brown.’

Selina watched the other woman making coffee. ‘You’re not quite what I was expecting.’

‘We can’t all be so smart that we don’t have the time or energy to develop social skills. Dad always wanted Kenny to do more kid stuff. Play ball. Ride his bike. Mom always won though. Kenny had too much potential to waste time being a kid.’

‘Jesus, I thought I was hard on Catherine.’

Devon poured coffee into the cups. ‘You have more patience than I do. If reporters were chasing after my kids that way I’d go crack some heads. Milk?’

‘Yeah.’ Selina sipped her coffee. ‘You gonna crack my head if I say I need to see Kent?’

Devon folded her arms. ‘He’s sick.’

‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.’

Devon tilted her head in a way oddly reminiscent of Kent. ‘No. You wouldn’t.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘Ya gonna let me see him or not?’

Devon sighed. ‘Be it on your own head, Madam President.’  

***

Kent’s bedroom. She hadn’t thought about how plain weird it was being there until she was pushing open the door. It seemed like every scrap of her life that wasn’t served up to the public was open season to her staff. But she knew practically nothing about them. What were Ben’s kids called? No idea. Had Amy been dating? She didn’t know. Being in Kent’s apartment felt weirdly intimate. Walking into the bedroom three steps past that.

Selina opened and closed her mouth. What the holy fuck…?

Two of the walls were soft pink and the other two were rich, deep red with gold trim. The carpet was thick, red plush that matched the walls. The bed was in the centre of the room.

A four-poster bed. A _four-poster_ bed! Who the fuck had a heavy oak four-poster bed with red and gold curtains?

Selina walked over to the bed and pulled back one of the curtains. Kent was pretty much the same colour as the bone white sheets, but that didn’t really catch her attention. There was a battered and clearly ancient plush toy duck, but that didn’t really catch her attention. What _did_ catch her attention was a small photograph to one side. It was from the Christmas party: all the senior staff clustered around Selina.

She gritted her teeth. So he was carrying a torch for Sue, was he? She didn’t know why she was surprised. She didn’t know why she cared.

Scratch that. She didn’t care. Why would she? She didn’t care if he was ass over freaking teakettle in love with Angelia Jolie. It didn’t make a shred of difference to Selina.

Kent’s eyes opened a crack. ‘Selina?’

‘Oh, _now_ you remember my name,’ she said. Christ, this had been a mistake and three-quarters. He didn’t look like he could sit up straight, never mind enter into some kind of political negotiations. ‘Never mind,’ she said. ‘I’ll talk to you soon. So, get fucking better already. We don’t have time for you to lie around.’

Selina stepped back, but he was holding her wrist.

‘‘S wrong?’

‘The congressional oversight committee are sniffing around the data breach,’ she said. ‘We need you to talk to whatsherface and make sure she doesn’t sell us out to them.’

Kent’s brow wrinkled as if he was struggling with some complex and mysterious conundrum. ‘Leigh?’

‘Yeah, Leigh,’ Selina said. ‘But I guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. You just make sure that you’re –’

‘Yesterday,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘She called. Went to see her.’

Selina sat on the side of the bed. ‘Wait, she called you yesterday about this investigation thing?’

Kent nodded, his eyes closing automatically. ‘Wants back in.’

She blew out her cheeks. ‘What didya tell her?’

‘Needed to discuss it.’ His grip on her wrist loosened. His fingers caught at hers as his hand fell.

Selina let out a deep breath. ‘Okay. Great. Tomorrow you call her. Sort it out.’

‘Sure,’ he murmured. His breathing was slowing. About to fall asleep.

‘Good job,’ Selina said, patting his shoulder.

His lips tugged into a slight smile.

Selina stepped back. Then stepped forward and kissed his cheek.

Fuck. Too fucking weird.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

She knew whose fucking fault it was. Oh, she knew.

Kent had been sick for two days. She’d already been sick for nearly three days and was still feeling like week-old roadkill. _He’d_ been able to take a couple of days off to recover. More or less. Okay, so he’d had to drag himself into the office the day after. And she’d heard him throwing up at least once. But hell, throwing up in your office was a political coming of age. Even though for most people it was from alcohol not illness.

Gary helped her sit up and brought over a mug of honey and lemon.

‘They all gone?’ she croaked.

‘Nobody’s waiting to see you. Oh! But you have a _lovely_ bouquet that came from Chad Gauden.’

Selina squinted at him. ‘Why would that Ken-doll send me flowers?’

‘To apologise for giving you the flu.’

‘Oh.’ Selina sipped the honey and lemon. ‘This could use some whiskey.’

‘I’m not sure –’

‘It’s medicinal.’

Gary squirmed. ‘Alcohol can interfere –’

‘ _Whiskey_ ,’ Selina growled.

‘Okay! I am going to go… get some whiskey,’ he said with near manic cheerfulness.

Fricking idiots. She was surrounded by incompetents and imbeciles. Jonah and Richard! Jesus Christ, who decided to fire them at representatives like kamikaze cretins? Kamicretins.

Oh God, she was obviously sicker than she thought.

***

Cabin fever hit in the early hours of the morning. Selina stared up at the ceiling. She had to get out of this bed. This room. Out of her freaking skin.

She pushed back the covers, enjoying the movement of air.

Selina groaned so loudly when she sat up that she expected someone to rush in. But, nope. Nobody. She’d woken in this room, in the darkness, any number of times. Illness made the familiar strange and turned the still quietness into something clammy and oppressive. As she shuffled along the corridor, the floor rising and falling in her vision, she thought she could hear the walls breathing.

Going into the West Wing was a mistake. She knew that as she squinted at a very faint patch of light about a billion miles in the distance.

There _were_ people around, cleaners, security, a couple of interns fucking on Mike’s desk…

‘Get a damn room!’ Selina croaked.

The girl ran. The boy waddled along, trying to yank up his pants.

Selina shook her head. Kids these days had no fucking panache.

There was a light on in the oval office. Selina pushed herself through the doorway.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’

She saw Kent look up and then… and then he was helping her sit down on the sofa amid the piles of paperwork.

‘Asked you a question,’ Selina mumbled.

‘I’m ensuring that the perception is that you’re working hard despite your illness.’ He brushed her hair off her face. ‘Your assistance wasn’t necessary.’

‘I couldn’t be in that room a minute longer,’ she said. ‘Not a fucking second.’

‘Coming all the way down here wasn’t your only option.’

Selina scowled at him. ‘I already have Gary to be my nursemaid. I don’t need another.’

Kent held up his hands in silent apology.

‘You’re the one who should be in bed,’ she grumbled. His tie was hanging loose and he had a couple of shirt buttons undone. It was freaking distracting.

‘Should I?’

Selina lent against him and pretended that she wasn’t. ‘You must need the rest. That whole cavalcade of shit today could’ve been avoided if you and Ben had your eyes on the ball.’ She poked his knee. ‘Ben’s a big picture guy; I don’t expect him to be good with details. Also, he’s a freaking alcoholic. You’re supposed to be the one who manages the fine print.’

‘Apologies,’ he said.

She blew her nose. ‘I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry. I want to know what the fuck is going on with you.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Bullshit,’ she growled. ‘You are _way_ off your game.’

A muscle in his jaw twitched but he said nothing.

‘Is it your mom?’ Selina asked.

If she hadn’t been sick, she wouldn’t have asked. If she hadn’t been sick, he wouldn’t have answered.  

Kent clasped his hands together in his lap. ‘There was an incident.’

Selina poked him. God. _Men._ ‘Well?’

‘Duncan, Devon’s son, was staying with mama for a few days. He came back late one night. She didn’t recognise him. Thought he was a burglar.’

‘Shit! Did she shoot him?’

Kent’s lips tugged in faint disgust. ‘We are not gun people. Evidently mama had taken to sleeping with a carving knife under her bed.’

Selina groaned softly.

‘Duncan isn’t… okay, but he’s neither dead nor maimed,’ Kent said quickly. ‘My mother is neither young nor strong.’ He rubbed his forehead. ‘Now Devon is accusing me of failing to accurately express the severity of mama’s decline, Skye insists that the situation was Duncan’s fault, and mama believes I have committed skulduggery against her.’

‘Well you’re fucked.’

Kent smiled weakly. ‘So it would appear.’

‘What kind of name is Skye?’

‘It’s an Island in Scotland,’ Kent shrugged. ‘She’s the baby. She has consistently refused to accept that there’s anything wrong with our mother.’

‘Skye has her head in the clouds, huh?’

Kent shrugged one shoulder. ‘She’s always found life a frightening and confusing thing.’

Selina snuffled but didn’t have a clean tissue. ‘So where’s your mom now?’

Kent took his handkerchief from a pocket, shook it out, and handed it to her. ‘The police hauled her to a state psychiatric facility on a 48-hour assessment. We managed to have her transferred to Rose Brook but she assumed that she would come home after. We decided that was unwise.’

‘We told dad beforehand,’ Selina said. ‘Christ what a mistake. Screaming. Wailing. He threw a freaking book at me.’ She noisily blew her nose. ‘Your mom blames you, huh?’

‘She does. We’ve always been close. She feels betrayed.’ His voice was low and uncertain.

‘Give me a fricking break. You’ve been busting your ass trying to do the right thing.’

Kent’s right hand twitched. Jerked towards her hand. Selina blinked, watching with almost anthropological interest. Look at that. Look at those long, straight, fingers reaching to her shorter, delicate ones. He’d never bitten his nails. She could tell.

His fingertips brushed across her skin as he put his hand over hers. His skin was warm. His grip was gentle as he squeezed her hand. Okay, this was… weird. Was she supposed to squeeze back or say something or…

He yanked his hand back. Clasped his hands together. She was looking down but she heard the way his voice changed when he turned to look at her.

‘You appear cold,’ he said quietly.

‘I’m fucking freezing,’ she said too quickly. Trying to get some distance from that intense, confusing moment.

Kent reached over to pick up his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders, fussing to make sure not to trap her hair. ‘Let’s get you back up to bed.’

‘That room smells funky,’ she grumbled.

‘When was the last time you showered?’

‘Shut the fuck up.’

‘Yes Ma’am.’

***

‘No, no, no.’ Selina grabbed at Kent’s hand as he moved to leave her bedroom.

He cocked his head at her.

‘Nasty,’ she said, searching for the right words. ‘Gross. Sticky. Need a shower.’

‘I do not,’ he said.

‘Me.’ She glowered at his expression. ‘Say nothing.’

‘It’s two in the morning,’ he protested, as she tried to drag him into the bathroom.

‘I need a shower,’ she growled, ‘and you’re gonna help me.’

Kent opened his mouth, and then closed it without speaking.

Selina winced at the brightness of the bathroom and screwed her eyes shut.

‘Help me get this off.’ She tugged at her pyjamas, twisting as her hands slipped over the satin.

Kent tutted and shook his head. ‘You’re getting yourself tangled up.’

Selina stopped fighting her own clothing and fumed silently while Kent unbuttoned her top, pulled it off, and knelt to tug down her pants.

‘How warm do you want the water?’ Kent asked.

‘Fucking scalding.’

Kent snorted as he dressed her in a robe and sat her down on the side of the bath. ‘Let’s hold that in reserve.’ He turned on the shower and put his hand under the pouring water. After a few minutes, he stepped back and held his hand out to her.

She swayed a little as she stood. Perspiration pricked across her forehead.

‘You reckon Taft really got stuck in a tub?’ Selina muttered as she slipped out of the robe and into the shower cubicle.

‘I find it unlikely since he was forward thinking enough to have extra-large bathtubs constructed for him.’

‘Where the fuck are you going?’ she demanded as he opened the door.

He frowned. ‘You don’t want me in here when you’re showering.’

‘Somebody should be, doncha think?’ Selina swayed and almost fell. She leant back against the cold, wet tiles and closed her eyes.

‘Selina?’ Kent asked quietly.

She reached blindly for the body wash and waved it in his direction. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. ‘Not like ya haven’t seen me naked a bunch of times.’

Selina heard him sigh, and then heard ruffle of fabric as he rolled up his sleeves.

‘Context is important,’ he said. ‘A two-piece swimsuit may be more revealing and yet less intimate than lingerie. Sex is a different kind of intimacy to this.’

‘Don’t make this weird.’

The shower was as loud as a waterfall. Tiny little hammers crashed against her skin. Echoed into her muscles and tendons. She was almost used to the headache. The crushing pressure against her sinuses. But in the heavy, steamy little cave, she breathed a little easier. Felt some of the exhaustion drain away.

‘I hope that this is making you feel better,’ Kent said a few minutes later, gently rubbing her shoulder with the exfoliating sponge.

‘Much better.’

‘Good.’ She heard the slight smile in his voice.

‘You could rub a little harder,’ she added.

‘As you like.’

‘Wouldya have done this for Hughes?’ she asked.

‘What?’

Selina opened her eyes. ‘Hughes.’

He looked at her with the expression of confused disgust that she knew too well. ‘No.’

‘Wouldya do it for Sue?’ Selina asked.

Kent pursed his lips as he thought about it. ‘The situation would never arise.’

‘Everybody gets sick.’

‘True,’ he admitted. ‘However the chances of Sue allowing her partner to see her in a state of weakness are approximately nil.’

Selina blinked at him. ‘She wouldn’t let you take care of her if she was sick?’

‘The latter half of that sentence is redundant,’ Kent said dryly. He put away the sponge and started to rinse her off.

‘Nice to have someone to look after you when you’re sick,’ Selina murmured.

She couldn’t tell if he was smiling or wincing.

‘I sincerely doubt that option would be any more likely,’ he said, turning off the shower.

‘But wouldya?’

He cocked his head. ‘Yes.’

‘Good,’ Selina said with a nod.

‘I fail to comprehend why you’re asking or how my answer would be pleasing.’

‘‘Means you’re not doing this because I’m your boss.’

He looked completely baffled. Which, she belatedly realised, was the only response that wouldn’t result in embarrassment all round. If Kent was even capable of it.

‘Hey, least you got your sister to look after you. What’s with her anyway?’

‘With Devon?’ Kent helped her out of the shower and started drying her.

Selina’s waved a hand vaguely. ‘She freaking hated me.’

‘You did insist on seeing me when I was ill,’ he said mildly. ‘Additionally, she rather imagines that you are… taking advantage of your position.’

‘Huh?’

‘You’re the president,’ he said. ‘I work for you. There is a significant power differential.’ He held the robe for her to shimmy into. ‘Devon is rather… protective.’

‘Aha! You told someone! Bad, bad you,’ she said wagging a finger.

Kent put his hand on his hip. ‘Do you want to get yourself back to bed?’

‘No, I think I need help,’ she said meekly.

***

Selina had to blend her foundation to hide her pallor.

‘You still look awful,’ Catherine said.

Selina gave her a look. ‘Well, I feel a shitload better since I had a shower last night.’ She cricked her neck. ‘You wouldn’t believe how much of a baby Kent was about helping me.’

Catherine’s eyes widened. ‘Kent helped you in the shower?’

‘Don’t look at me like that. I could barely stand up.’

‘That’s not what I… Mom, how could you expose yourself like that?’

‘What? I needed a shower and I needed help,’ she said weakly. ‘If you were sick you’d get Jason to help.’

‘No I wouldn’t!’ Catherine protested. ‘God, Mom! That is way too… Relationships need mystery. God, I can’t believe that you would ask Kent to do something so… intimate.’

Selina threw down her makeup brush. ‘Oh grow the fuck up. If you couldn’t ask Jason to give you a shower when you were sick, if you can’t be that “intimate” with him, then you’ve got no freaking business _getting_ married.’

‘Wow,’ Catherine said. ‘You are the last person I’d expect to seriously believe in all that “in sickness and in health” stuff.’

Selina shrugged. ‘Yeah, well. Life if fucking hard and sometimes you need someone to help you out.’

Catherine looked around for another topic. ‘Can’t you take another day?’

‘I can’t be sick for five days. Five days is practically a week and a week sick would make me a freaking invalid.’ Selina swivelled around on her chair. ‘That’d lose me the election for damn sure.’

Catherine folded her arms across her chest. ‘Have we heard anything else about the investigation?’

Selina frantically waved her hand. ‘Keep your voice down!’

‘I thought you were going to get the whole thing shut down,’ Catherine hissed.

‘When it was just the data breach it seemed like I could.’ Selina stood up. ‘One mistake is a mistake. A bunch of mistakes and people start seeing conspiracies and corruption.’

‘The one and only time simple incompetence would’ve been preferable.’

Selina gave her daughter a look. ‘You haven’t told Jason about any of this, right?’

Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t even know half of what’s been going on.’

‘But the less than half that you know you haven’t told him about. _Right?_ ’

‘God, Mom,’ Catherine said, following her towards the door. ‘Why would he even be interested? I swear to God, you honestly have no idea that outside of your little Washington D.C. bubble nobody cares about ninety-nine percent of what you do or say.’

Selina put her hands on her hips. ‘Number one, I’m the fricking president, so people all over the _world_ care desperately about _everything_ I say and everything I do. Number two, Jason is a lobbyist. A _lobbyist_ , Catherine. His job is trying to get us to change shit his clients want. To him anything I say or do can be used to wring money out of someone.’

Catherine shook her head. ‘Jason isn’t using me.’

‘I don’t have time for an argument right now! Especially not such a stupid one.’ Selina checked herself in the mirror again. ‘Just make sure you don’t tell him anything.’

She still felt shitty physically, but shitty was a massive improvement on how she’d felt yesterday and the few days before that.

She was trying not to think about the bill. It hurt. She’d worked so hard. Put so much of herself into it. It wasn’t some sponsored-by-a-corporation bullshit that was gonna screw over the poor and rape the environment. It was _important_. It meant something. Fuck, it meant a _lot_. It could’ve lifted millions of Americans out of poverty. It could have been her legacy. Her name would’ve gone down in history.

It fucking hurt.

And what was that bullshit about “mystery”? That was a fucking joke. The secret service didn’t just keep track of _who_ she was screwing but _when_ , _where_ , and probably _how_ she was screwing. The whole of the senior staff had seen her sick, exhausted, and generally looking like three-day old refried hell. Not for the first time. When she’d been on the campaign trail with Hughes there was one night, she shuddered to think of it, when she’d got too drunk with Ben and they’d both spent too much time bewailing their romantic choices. Of course, Kent had been the one to interrupt their pity party. He’d gotten to see Ben staggering around in his underwear and Selina with mascara smeared across her cheeks and lipstick bleeding across her mouth and chin. He’d left Ben there and escorted Selina back to her own room with an insufferably prim manner. Leastways, that’s what she’d thought back then.

She’d given up any chance of being “mysterious” fricking years ago. And that was _fine_. She wasn’t some goddamn femme fatale in an old movie. She didn’t exist to be some kind of “other” to men. She was a woman. She was a fricking human being. She had bodily functions like every other human being. If some _man_ had a problem with her fucking, or sweating, or puking, or goddamn farting then that was that man’s problem. It wasn’t her job to be some fantasy of grace, beauty or whatever the fucking excuse was.

But the other thing, the intimacy thing, that niggled a little. Maybe, _maybe_ , Catherine might’ve had a tiny little point about that. Hadn’t Kent said something similar? Shit. Shit. Shit. Well, that was his fault too. He’d told her about his mom. Opened up about as much as he was probably capable of, so naturally she’d opened up to him. That was normal, right?

Totally normal. She had no reason for that old, familiar prickle of unease. Oh, but she knew exactly what she was trying to tell herself, that she’d screwed up. Showed weakness instead of strength. Been too intimate.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Selina forced herself to speed up as she headed towards her office. No dawdling. Being president was like the law of the jungle. You spent all your life fighting your way to the top and then, when you finally go there, even the slightest sign of weakness would get someone’s teeth in your neck.

Kent was perched on Sue’s desk. She didn’t allow anyone else to do that. He didn’t do it anywhere else. A different kind on intimacy. One that made Selina clench her shoulders. Kent and Sue were chatting animatedly. What passed for animation between a robot and a fifth generation carbon copy of a human being.

Did Sue know he had that photograph? Who the fuck kept a photograph of their ex in their damn bed?

‘You got nothing else to be doing, Kent?’ Selina demanded. ‘I’m damn sure that you have things to be doing, Sue.’

Sue’s eyes narrowed fractionally. Well, fuck her. Fuck _her_. Selina didn’t pay her to sit around flirting with other members of staff. The White House was a place of work not a fricking… discotheque.

‘We have a meeting scheduled,’ Kent said, standing up and straightening his shirt.

He didn’t say that she was late. The president couldn’t be late. Whatever time she arrived was whatever time things should begin. She was always on time. Anyone else was early.

Kent shut the door behind them as she stamped into her office. ‘You seem in poor spirits,’ he said.

‘Are you fucking Sue?’

Kent put his hand on his hip. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You fucking heard me, mister.’

‘I heard. I am merely struggling to believe it.’

Selina folded her arms. ‘So are you?’

‘What _possible_ business is it of yours?’ Kent asked.

‘What business… Of course it’s my fucking business!’

‘Why?’ His eyes were narrowed and he didn’t so much as glance away from her. ‘You have made it excruciatingly clear that I am, in your words, a man who merely happens to be attached to a dick.’

‘That’s… I didn’t mean that literally!’ Selina insisted.

‘Of course you did. It’s precisely how you treat me. You expect me to show up, perform, and leave. When you have emphasised that you want a purely physical connection with no heart, no soul, it is ludicrous to expect me to be monogamous. The term in this situation is entirely meaningless.’

Selina was shaking her head. ‘I just want to know if you’re fucking… someone else.’

‘Why?’

‘What?’

‘Why?’ he repeated. ‘You didn’t discuss it with me when you panted and drooled all over Tom.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘Has Gary said something? Because –’

‘Fortunately I am in possession of functional eyes and am not reliant on Gary being indiscreet,’ Kent sneered. ‘I have eyes and I have seen your attempts at flirtation with Tom.’

‘Hey, this isn’t about me, this is about you.’ Selina stepped forward and poked his chest. ‘If you’re sticking your dick in other people, if you sticking your dick in strange or crazy, I have a right to know. I have a responsibility, damn it! You want this to be like Kennedy and that… that mafia guy?’

Kent barked a laugh. There was no humour in it. ‘The closest you would come to Kennedy would be bumping your head at the library.’

‘Why’re you being such an ass about this?’

Kent squeezed the bridge of his nose. ‘I am merely being honest.’

‘While refusing to answer the question!’

‘You have no right to ask.’ He walked to the door. ‘If that’s all, I have actual work to do.’

‘Hey, we’re not done,’ she protested.

‘Yes we are,’ he said. ‘ _We_ are _done_.’


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With apologies for my Shakespeare: Text and Performance tutor.

 

Selina swallowed. ‘That’s not your choice.’

‘I hate to be the one to break it to you _Selina,_ but this isn’t a feudal monarchy and I’m not your vassal. I can walk away at any time and I am choosing to do so.’

‘You don’t get to fucking announce a thing like that without explanation! People have disagreements and they fricking get over it.’

Kent pursed his lips. ‘That’s not the reason. That merely makes it easier.’

‘Well don’t leave me in suspense.’

He looked away for a moment before looking back at her. ‘This isn’t working for me.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘What the fuck does that mean?’

‘I thought that I could do this.’ His shrug was a sharp jerk of his shoulders. ‘I can’t. I cannot demarcate sex the way that you can.’

‘You’ve been doing it for months,’ Selina snapped.

Kent shook his head. ‘I have been attempting it for months. Alas I have been singularly unsuccessful.’

‘Could’ve fooled me.’

‘Hardly difficult given that you regard me as having less humanity than a hairbrush,’ he said dryly.

Selina balled her hands into fists. ‘I told you exactly what the deal was. Don’t blame me because you don’t have the balls to go the distance.’

‘I wasn’t assigning blame.’ He put his hands on his hips. ‘You were very clear. I swallowed my pride and better judgement. Those are my mistakes.’

‘You pride and better judgement?’ she spluttered. ‘I’m so far out of your league we’re playing completely different games.’

Kent straightened his back. ‘I agree this was a miscalculation. I trust that it won’t negatively impact our working together.’

Selina fought the urge to hurl a small statuette at his head. ‘What… what the fuck do you want? This was never a relationship.’

He winced. Small. Quick. But Selina caught the movement.

‘I’m aware of that,’ he said. ‘My last courtship ended painfully. I thought this would be a safe transition.’

Selina felt herself reddening. ‘Why’d it end with Sue? Pretty fricking obvious that you’re still hung up on her.’

Kent frowned. ‘That’s why you were asking if we’re sleeping together?’

‘Answer the question.’

He looked down. ‘We wanted, needed, different things,’ he said.

‘So you compromise,’ Selina said. ‘That’s like eighty percent of what relationships are.’

Kent laughed softly. Not a sarcastic sound but not a happy one either. ‘Compromise is possible only where an array of options exists. For a simple binary: yes or no, compromise merely means agreeing to something you don’t want.’

‘So you split up with her instead. Typical fricking man.’

Kent shook his head. ‘If you imagine that Sue waited for me to end things then you don’t know her.’

‘Hey buster, if you sleep with strong women then you can’t whine when they demand to be treated as an equal.’

That tugged a small smile from him. ‘I can’t remember the last woman I was attracted to who would settle for merely being equal.’

Selina fought a smile of her own. ‘That why she dumped you?’

‘Not at all. That’s never an issue for me. But when two people in a relationship are looking for fundamentally different things you cannot help but be building a foundation on quicksand.’

Selina snorted. ‘More fucking excuses.’

Kent frowned slightly. ‘Given the lack of emotional engagement between us, I’m struggling to understand why you seem so peculiarly angry. It wasn’t my intention to imply any personal slight.’

Selina crossed her arms tightly across her chest. ‘It was handy, that’s all. My life is like riding a unicycle through quicksand and instead of making it easier you’re making it more difficult.’

Kent spread his hands. ‘Not my intention.’

‘Yeah, well, road to hell and all that.’

‘I apologise for the inconvenience. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.’

She waved him off, although she still wanted to throw something at him. Something heavy. Who did he think she was? Who the fuck did he think she was? She was attractive, she was smart, she was the goddamn president! He should be grovelling on the fucking carpet!

Selina threw something at the wall. It was a poor substitute.

There was a polite tap at the door, which then opened immediately.

‘What?’ Selina demanded as Gary opened his mouth. ‘Did I call for you? Because I think I’d have noticed.’

He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. ‘Oh, you’ve broken that lovely little statuette.’ He hurried over to where it was lay on the floor. ‘Would you like a nice croissant?’ he asked. ‘We have _chocolate_ ones.’

‘Yes please,’ Selina said meekly, sinking down into her chair. ‘And a hot chocolate.’

Gary’s face was a mask of shock as he tidied up the mess that she’d made. ‘Are you okay? What’s happened?’

‘I think I just got dumped.’

‘Oh no!’ Gary glanced at the door and then back at her. ‘By phone? Selina, you deserve so much better than some inconsiderate… monster who dumps you by text!’

‘No he…’

Shit. Gary had been outside. He’d obviously heard her. He’d know exactly who’d been in the room.

Selina took a breath. ‘He called. He didn’t text.’

Gary relented slightly. ‘I’ll get you the croissant and the hot chocolate,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘But it sounds like you’re better off without him.’

***

‘You’re fun,’ Ben said, during their private briefing.

‘We’re facing an investigation, a tight election, and Catherine getting married in a fugly dress. What’s there to be fun about?’

‘None of those are new,’ Ben said.

Selina rubbed her forehead. ‘You really wanna know?’

Ben shrugged. ‘No, not really.’

‘Tough shit, I wanna talk about it and you’re the only one here.’

He loosened his tie. ‘Okay little girl, tell Uncle Ben what’s getting you down.’

Selina poured herself a drink. ‘I had this casual thing going on with this guy.’

‘I hate him already.’

Selina cut her eyes at him. ‘It was a no-strings thing.’

Ben’s winced painfully. ‘This is the guy that I asked you about?’

‘Yeah but –’

‘The one you promised me wouldn’t go selling stories or pictures to the press?’

‘Don’t get fucking pissy with me,’ Selina snapped. ‘He’s not going to do anything like that.’

Ben clasped his hands together. ‘Go on.’

Selina snorted out a breath. I asked him if he was seeing… anyone else. He told me that it wasn’t any of my business.’

‘You didn’t discuss all that when you started the no-strings thing?’

Selina squirmed in her seat. ‘We didn’t sign a freaking contract either.’

‘Okay.’ Ben put his hands behind his head. ‘So you’re jealous?’

‘Fuck no! It’s a security issue. How’s it gonna look if I’m fucking him and he’s going at it with some chick who’s, I don’t know, banging an ISIS guy?’

Ben stretched out. ‘It’s going to look like your boyfriend has a fantastically varied social life.’

‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ Selina snapped.

Ben put his finger into his ear and swivelled it around. ‘You trust this guy not to run to the press but you don’t trust him not to fuck terrorists?’

‘Women who’re sleeping with terrorists,’ she said. ‘Not the actual terrorists.’

‘Hey, let’s not discriminate,’ Ben said. ‘Women can be terrorists too.’

Selina scowled. ‘I feel like you’re not taking this seriously.’

‘I’m not really your guy for that,’ Ben said. He held up his hands. ‘Look, Selina, this whole ISIS thing seems like a shower of shit. You don’t want him fucking other women. No shame there.’

‘Sure as hell not Sue,’ Selina said. ‘Shit. Ignore that.’

Ben sat up. ‘Sue? Why would he be fucking Sue?’

‘No reason. Never mind. Slip of the tongue. I asked him about sleeping around and then he said we were done because he couldn’t “demarcate” sex the way I could.’

Ben’s expression was sliding from his usual knee-jerk cynicism into horror. ‘Wait, who’re we talking about?’

‘Nobody, it doesn’t matter, forget I said anything,’ Selina said, waving her hand.

Ben’s brows pulled together. ‘Selina, we’re not… please tell me we’re not talking about Kent. Tell me that you’re not fucking that god damn icicle dicked robot.’

‘What? No! No, no, no. That’s… ridiculous, why would you think that? God, Ben, of all the fucking insane suggestions that you could have, I can’t even begin to imagine why that would be one that you would go with. God, what’re you thinking, Ben?’

He heaved a heavy sigh. ‘You ever hear that “the lady doth protest too much,” Ma’am?’

‘Do I look like fricking Lady Macbeth to you?’

‘It’s not _Romeo and Juliet_ then?’ Ben asked.

‘Whatever!’ Selina covered her eyes with her hand.

‘Jesus Christ,’ Ben muttered. ‘Why… _why_ would you sleep with that fucking… replicant? It was bad enough when Sue took up with him, though she’s hardly better. But you?’

Selina dropped her hand. ‘The sex is great and I know he won’t start expecting a relationship,’ she said.

‘You could have great sex with a vibrator!’ Ben heaved himself to his feet. ‘You’d probably have better conversations! Christ on a fucking pogo stick.’

‘Stop yelling at me!’ Selina stabbed her index finger into the air. ‘You do not get to fucking yell at me, Mr I-Don’t-Know-How-Many-Mistresses-I-Had.’

Ben shook his head. ‘I can’t believe you tried that “what if he’s screwing a terrorist” line.’

‘Hey, it’s a legitimate concern,’ she said weakly.

‘If it was _Dan_ it’d be a legitimate concern. Fuck, if some hot chick took up with Jonah I’d be expecting exactly that. Freaking Kent? You’re probably the most outrageous thing he’s done in his life.’

‘He wouldn’t tell me if he was sleeping with Sue,’ Selina said, fussing with the cushions.

‘Of course he’s not sleeping with her,’ Ben sneered. ‘He’s _Kent_ , he couldn’t keep up with her the last time. He sure as shit couldn’t do both of you. He’s just pissed that you asked him.’

‘Yeah,’ Selina said. ‘Yeah! I’m too much woman for him let alone with another woman in the mix. Thanks, Ben.’

‘If that’s what you think I said and it makes you happy then… good.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m gonna get out of here before you decide to take me for a test drive. You’re definitely too much woman for me.’

***

Sue was being weird. Uncharacteristically diffident in a way that was really creeping Selina out.

‘Okay, what’s going on?’ Selina asked as Sue handed her a stack of reports. ‘You’ve been tip-toeing around me all afternoon.’

The younger woman pursed her lips. ‘I was sorry to hear that you are newly single.’

‘Fucking Gary,’ Selina groaned. ‘Is he telling everyone?’

‘Yes.’

Selina gripped the edge of her desk. ‘Well, it’s no big deal. I know that he told you what our arrangement was. So, you know, easy come and easy go.’

Sue raised an eyebrow. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

‘You heard the ornament uh…’ Selina waved her hand. ‘I have a very stressful job, a very stressful life, and there are times when I have to just _vent_.’

‘I see.’

Selina shifted in her chair. ‘You’re not gonna mention that to anyone, right?’

‘No.’

‘It’s bad enough Gary is running around telling people.’ Selina pointed her pen. ‘People know Gary’s a drama queen. They’d take you seriously.’ She flipped her pen around her fingers and then tapped it on the desk. ‘Especially don’t tell Kent. I don’t wanna give him the satisfaction.’

Something like a flicker of surprise touched Sue’s face. ‘He wouldn’t find that satisfying.’

‘You don’t think so?’

‘No,’ Sue said.

Selina gripped the pen. ‘Why sorry?’

It took Sue a moment to backtrack the conversation. ‘Mr Davison lacks the tools to live the life that he wishes to have. I thought that perhaps in time your arrangement might segue into something he would find more in keeping with his requirements.’

‘Huh?’

‘He lacks the social awareness and skills to easily make new acquaintances and ingratiate himself with them.’ Sue paused for a moment, and then lowered her voice. ‘He can also be somewhat naïve regarding women.’

Selina licked her lips. ‘He said he’d told you about our arrangement because you were pissed when you thought we were dating.’

‘Dating someone else in the office so soon after our breakup would have been disrespectful,’ Sue said flatly.

‘Pretty fricking unlikely given the torch he’s carrying.’

Selina expected her to preen but instead Sue’s expression softened marginally.

‘Kent and I needed different things,’ Sue said.

‘Yeah, he said that.’

‘Children shouldn’t be raised by a father who only tolerates them to please their mother,’ Sue said. ‘Kent is a faithful and respectful partner. He would be an excellent provider but would doubtless grow to resent raising children he never wanted.’

‘Oh! You want… Oh!’ Selina sat back in her chair. ‘I didn’t… I never thought you were the maternal…’

‘I will be an exceptional mother,’ Sue said severely.

‘Kent’s getting on a little for diaper changes and midnight feeding.’

Sue let out a tiny sigh. ‘He desires a companion. Someone to share his life. Someone to go sailing with. To talk with. To be quiet and thoughtful with.’

‘Definitely not babies then.’

‘No.’ Sue straightened her blouse. ‘He would have done his best nonetheless.’ She shrugged with her mouth. ‘He would have been unhappy.’

Well that was fricking depressing.

***

 

 ‘This doesn’t make any sense,’ Catherine said, watching the manicurist. The woman had come guaranteed not to speak a word of English, but Catherine watched her carefully, just in case.

‘I know! Who’d want to break up with me, I’m fricking awesome,’ Selina said.

‘No, I understand entirely that,’ Catherine said.

‘Hey!’

‘Both his reasons make sense.’ She waggled her toes. ‘But not together. On the one hand, he’s pissed that you’re jealous when your arrangement is supposed to be meaningless. Then on the other hand he says he can’t treat it as just sex.’

Selina lowered his voice. ‘I wasn’t fricking jealous!’

‘Okay,’ Catherine agreed. ‘Not sure why you think “possessive” is any better under the circumstances. They’re both really creepy things to be feeling about Kent.’

Selina threw up her free hand. ‘I try to reach out to you, to bond with you, but you make the whole thing into a sick joke.’

‘I wasn’t joking.’ Catherine gave her a look. ‘You sound as confused as he does. You can’t make a big song and dance about it being no-strings and then demand fidelity, Mom. It doesn’t work like that.’

‘It works however I say it works.’

Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘Well, tell Kent that.’

Jealous! Of all the fucking ridiculous things Catherine ever said, and Christ knew there was a ton of them, that one was right up there. She hadn’t been _jealous_ , okay? Jealousy was what insecure people felt. Selina wasn’t insecure, damn it. She was awesome and she knew it. The issue was… disrespect. That was it. If he was screwing Sue at the same time as he was sleeping with her then it was plain disrespectful.

‘Your eye is twitching,’ Catherine observed.

‘No, it’s not.’ Selina screwed her eye shut.

Catherine let out a deep breath. ‘Maybe if you apologised to Kent –’

‘What? Why the fuck would I do that?’

‘Because it’s what people do when they’ve had a row with their… sexual partner,’ Catherine said.

‘He can apologise to me.’

Catherine looked at her mother. ‘So you’re going to throw away this… whatever this weird thing is you’ve got going because of your pride?’

Selina fixed her with a look. ‘Don’t underestimate pride, Catherine, when the world takes away every other fucking thing that you have, pride will keep you from laying down and dying.’

‘But Mom, I think that Kent was trying to tell you something important.’

‘Yeah, he told me that I was dumped,’ Selina sneered.

‘No, Mom –’

Selina held up her hand. ‘Catherine, I know that you’re trying to help, but I’m done. If Kent fucking Davison didn’t know how awesome _this_ was when he had it he doesn’t deserve it.’

***

‘Are you _sure_ that we shouldn’t take legal advice?’ Bill asked. ‘Because this seems like something we should take legal advice over. I, for one, am extremely uneasy about this entire situation.’

Selina covered her eyes with her hand. ‘Ya think that we should be discussing this, Bill? Do ya think that _legally_ we should be discussing your testimony?’

‘Sure there can’t be any problem with… Christ, will you answer your phone?’ Ben said, twisting to look at Kent. ‘Either that or turn off your butt plug, whichever one that’s been buzzing away like a pacemaker in an MRI.’

Kent frowned as he reached into his jacket. ‘I’ll turn off my phone.’

‘Oh yeah, _great_ idea,’ Selina said. ‘Because it’s not as if my campaign manager needs to be constantly plugged in… and Ben, do not make another butt plug joke.’

Kent turned off his phone and placed it in the middle of the coffee table. ‘It would appear that _somehow_ my number erroneously appeared attached to a number of the more unsavoury listings on several websites.’ He looked directly at Selina. ‘A petty and juvenile prank.’

Selina looked down at her tablet. ‘Well maybe you shouldn’t give people reason to prank you, Kent,’ she said, and pretended to be absorbed in her tablet until she felt the flush leave her face.

***

Selina had thought giving video evidence was the way to go. There was distance. There would be none of those pesky visuals of her being grilled by the committee. It had seemed the right choice. Now she wasn’t so sure. If it all went horribly wrong she’d be stuck in the White House while it all went to hell in the Capitol. Ben and Kent could plan all they freaking wanted but they wouldn’t be able to do fuck all if Dan or Bill sold her out, or if the idiot twins dropped her in the shit.

Ben and Kent were weirdly relaxed.

‘It’s not like we haven’t done all this before,’ Ben said. ‘Hell, we just went through similar with the hikers.’

Kent nodded in agreement. It was freaking her out, the way that the two of them were presenting a united front.

‘Provided that we plan appropriately and act pragmatically the administration should come through unscathed,’ Kent said. He was on the sofa next to Ben.

‘Ya wanna give me that in simple English?’

Kent looked at Ben.

‘Someone’s gotta take the fall,’ Ben said.

Selina stood up and pushed her hands through her hair. ‘We’re not talking about someone resigning and getting a cushy job as a lobbyist. Someone could be looking at prison time.’   

‘That fact remains irrespective of whether we provide a suspect or wait for the committee to select a prime malefactor,’ Kent said. ‘This way we select the choice that least impacts you and also forestall further loses.’ He shrugged. ‘We surrender a toe to save the foot.’

‘It’s the price of playing in the big leagues,’ Ben said. His finger jabbed the air. ‘Don’t think we can throw some intern under the bus. We need a senior member of staff. Maybe -’

‘Bill,’ Selina said.

Ben blinked. ‘Was expecting more of a fight.’

‘I’m the freaking president,’ Selina snapped. ‘I make hard decisions all day, every day.’ She sat back down. ‘He’s the least consequence. The fucker was going after Amy.’

Kent too, but the mood she was in that was a plus.

Kent shifted position. ‘Bill will not go easily or quietly,’ he said. ‘He will not throw himself upon his sword.’

‘And you would?’ Ben retorted.

‘Regardless of your kneejerk impulse, not even you would be foolish enough to attempt my assassination,’ Kent said. ‘I know where _all_ the bodies are buried.’

Ben lost his colour and said nothing. Huh. For a passing moment, Selina had thought Kent was aiming it at her.

‘So what do we do?’ Selina asked.

‘You continue to work,’ Kent said. ‘Rise above the investigation as a minor inconvenience. You are the president and have matters of state and worldwide security to attend to.’

Ben patted her hand. ‘We’ll take of this.’

It didn’t feel the same as when Kent had touched her. Ben’s touch was just a touch. Warm and slightly clammy.

‘Good,’ Selina asked.

‘Directly,’ Ben said to Kent. ‘No Dumb and Dumber and absolutely no fucking lists, sur, sub, or anything else.’

‘Agreed.’

Selina rubbed her forehead. ‘Isn’t it gonna be obvious?’

‘Not if we get Dan, Amy, and Kent’s little friend singing from the same hymn-sheet,’ Ben said.

Kent frowned. ‘Richard echoing our statements would only appear more suspicious.’

‘Not him. Intern scapegoat girl,’ Ben said.

Selina threw up her hands. ‘Why the fuck would she help us? She’s got every freaking reason to screw us over.’

Kent cleared his throat. ‘She’ll do it.’

Selina gritted his teeth. ‘You sound awful sure.’

‘Leigh is ambitious,’ he said mildly. ‘Her recent experiences have left her rather less naïve and rather more realistic.’

‘Plus, we’ll tell her that it was Bill’s idea to can her,’ Ben said.

‘Lying to her will not be necessary,’ Kent said, scowling. ‘I’ll speak to her. I don’t anticipate any problems.’

***

‘What did she just say?’ The colour had drained from Bill’s face. He was perched on the smaller couch in the Oval Office.

‘She just named Gary,’ Jonah said helpfully.

‘To hell with Gary, she just named me!’

Selina wordlessly glared at Ben and Kent, who looked every bit as surprised as everyone else.

‘What’s the problem, Bill?’ Mike asked guilelessly. ‘It’s true, isn’t it? Can’t blame the kid for telling the truth.’

There was a crash from outside the room, and someone screamed, ‘Oh my God!’

‘Guess Gary’s heard the news,’ Ben said cheerfully.

‘It’s not fucking funny!’ Selina hissed. ‘Mike, go calm him the hell down.’

He dragged himself to his feet and started walking to the door.

Kent raised his hands. ‘There’s no reason for any alarm. Leigh hasn’t said anything that isn’t true. All she has said is –’

‘Oh sure,’ Bill said. ‘All she’s done is imply that I’m fucking involved.’

‘It’s a congressional hearing you whining great piece of shit,’ Ben said. ‘And Little Miss Staccato’s got no reason not to screw us all over.’

Selina stood up abruptly. ‘Kent, a word in your office.’

He nodded as he stood, and followed her.

‘Remember Kent, begging for mercy only makes the beatings worse!’ Ben called out.

Selina excoriated him with a look.

In Kent’s office, he folded his arms across his chest and watched Selina as she slammed the door shut.

‘What the _fuck_ just happened?’ she demanded. ‘You said that it was sorted. You said that she understood what we needed from her.’

Kent licked his lips. ‘Under the circumstances, she did remarkably well.’

‘Are you fucking _kidding_ –’

 ‘She’s nineteen,’ he snapped. ‘A child. An innocent whom _we_ threw to the wolves. She has no experience with congressional committees and the fact that she coped with such grace is genuinely impressive.’

‘She just put Gary in the firing line!’

Kent nodded. ‘I imagine that she panicked. Not ideal but not entirely surprising.’

‘No shit it’s not ideal.’

‘It does have the twin virtues of being both true and positing a decoy.’

Selina squinted at him. ‘What?’

‘Nobody would ever believe Gary responsible of orchestrating a cover up,’ Kent said. ‘Suggesting two people was strategically sound but –’

‘Did you fucking tell her to name Gary?’

‘Certainly not.’ Kent braced his shoulders. ‘I suggested she name Ben.’

‘What!’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘Ben is perfectly capable of looking after himself. Doubtless if he were dealing with Leigh he would have had her name me.’

Selina slammed her hand on the table. ‘It was supposed to be Bill,’ she hissed. ‘That was it.’

‘The situation is under control.’

‘No it’s not! Gary running around in a great screaming panic is as far from in control as humanly fucking possible!’

Kent clenched his jaw. ‘Gary is both utterly loyal to you and eminently ludicrous. He would never deliberately compromise you. Should he accidently implicate one of us, he will be easily discredited.’

Selina breathed in an out slowly through her nose. ‘You better not be fucking with me.’

‘What possible benefit could there be to my doing that?’

‘Well it wouldn’t be the first time,’ Selina sneered. ‘Maybe you want some petty, pathetic revenge.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘The ending of our _arrangement_ has merely left me somewhat disappointed,’ he said. ‘The anger is all yours and with it all the motivation for revenge. I leave that all to you.’

Now she threw something. She didn’t know what it was. Something from his desk. Smooth and cold and heavy.

Kent grunted as it struck him in the chest. He tried to grab the heavy, silvery thing but it slipped through his grasp and smashed on the floor.

‘Don’t throw things at me,’ he said coldly.

‘If they call her back you better make damn sure that you’ve got a leash on her.’ Selina’s voice was as breathless as if she’d battered at him with her fists.

‘You of all people know that keeping women on a leash is not within my skill set,’ he said, as he knelt to clear up the broken ornament.

Selina snorted out a breath. ‘Yeah, you don’t have the fucking guts.’

‘I dispute the suggestion that the subjugation of women implies strength.’ He stood up and brushed the broken shards into the garbage.

‘Oh boo-fucking-hoo, don’t pretend some liberal feminist agenda with me, I’m on to you.’ Selina crossed the distance between them and poked him in the shoulder. ‘You’re too goddamn weak is all. You can’t even control a nineteen-year-old. What was the matter, Kent, didn’t you fuck her quite right? Are you not quite down with whatever it is that buttoned up little virgins fantasise about happening when some pervert old enough to be their grandfather deflowers them?’

His hands were shaking. When he spoke, his voice was low and harsh. ‘Shut up.’

‘ _Make me_ ,’ she hissed into his face.

Kent shoved her against the wall. Pinned her there. Crushed his mouth against hers. Selina yanked at his buttons, dragging his shirt apart. Dragged her nails down his chest. Heard him grunt.

Kent caught her wrists. She could feel his warm, moist breath against her face.

‘I can’t do this,’ he said, stepping back.

‘What?’

He ran his fingers through his hair, that ridiculous mop. ‘We both have work to do.’

‘Work? _Work?_ Are you fucking kidding me?’

Selina spun on her heel as she left. Who did he think he was? Who the _fuck_ did he think he was? Turn _her_ down? That smug fucking _prick_. He’d had the gall to say he was “disappointed” but she was angry? That dick thought she was more invested in this thing than he was. Like he'd been fucking indulging her. Bullshit. Bull. Shit. He’d enjoyed himself plenty.

And… and… he’d been the one to hold her hand that time. And he’d kissed her neck in bed. Yeah, right he was “merely disappointed.” She knew what his deal was. He didn’t have the _skill set_ , ha, to have a real relationship so instead he kept sniffing after different women and humping their legs like a lonely dog.

Fricking pathetic. She couldn’t think why she’d ever let him near her. Well he wasn’t going to be humping _her_ leg ever again.


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

‘Christ, look at that whiny little shit,’ Ben said, cracking a walnut as they sat watching the hearing. ‘He makes Jonah look calm and composed.’

Selina drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘Hasn't Bill ever given freaking evidence before?’

Ben threw the walnut into his mouth and chewed. ‘The greatest campaign manager in America? Doesn’t look like it.’

Mike chewed his thumb. ‘He just threw Kent to the lions.’

Ben put his feet up on the coffee table. ‘He can’t even do that right.’

Selina squinted at the screen. ‘Did Kent just say that he did know and did nothing, or that he knew and did something but didn’t tell anyone?’

‘The swan thing?’ Ben asked. ‘Who the fuck knows. It’s Kent. He could turn two plus two equals four into a ten-minute presentation with flipcharts and Venn diagrams.

‘Why’re they letting that go without a bunch more questions?’ Mike asked.

Ben adjusted his waistband. ‘Because they’re worried he might answer ‘em.’

‘He can be clear enough when he fricking wants,’ Selina grumbled.

She didn’t like the glance that Mike and Ben exchanged. Mike looked way less baffled than he shoulda done. Christ. Did Mike know? Did everyone know? The assholes _would_ finally work it out just after everything was off. The second that she heard _one_ snicker or one off-coloured joke, she was going to string whoever it was up by their thumbs. And then Kent. She was pretty freaking sure he hadn’t told Mike; Kent was the least gossipy person in the whole fricking place. But god, she wanted to just… smack that beard right off his face.

And she’d never even worked up to talking to him about revisiting the whole gag thing. Christ knew when she was going to be banging someone who might be open to that sorta thing.

When she was younger she’d thought that finding someone was as simple as matching up who you wanna screw with who wants to screw you. Later on she realised that she needed someone who understood her job, or at least knew when to shut the fuck up about late nights and weeks away on the campaign trail. All that bullshit about “compatibility,” like it was one thing. One score. Well it wasn’t. Orientation. Attraction. Financial Goals. Career. Politics. Kids. Sex. It was a freaking miracle that anybody managed to make a relationship work for more than ten minutes straight.    

‘I want whatever drugs Kent’s on,’ Mike said. ‘Look at him just sitting there like it’s no big thing.’

Ben snorted. ‘Robots don’t take meds. They don’t get nervous. That’s why the committee’s more interested in Bill, he’s the one shitting himself.’

‘You weren’t exactly shaking with nerves yourself,’ Selina said. ‘What was it Ben, a couple of Valium or a stiff whiskey?’

‘Both, if a thing’s worth doing it’s worth overdoing.’

***

Gary made a cartoonishly sad face. ‘How’re you doing?’ he asked, handing Selina a coffee.

‘Huh?’

‘With the whole _boyfriend_ situation,’ he said, half whispering the words.

‘I’m not in grade school, Gary. My mom isn’t going to bust in at the word “boyfriend.” Not that he was. My boyfriend. We just fucked.’ She tapped her spoon against her saucer. ‘And the fucking was great. We were fucking and now we’re not any more. No big freaking deal.’

‘Oh my God! He was using you for sex!’

‘What? No. He freaking _wishes._ I was using him for sex,’ Selina scoffed.

Gary relaxed a bit. ‘You wouldn’t do that. Would you? Because you don’t need to find some other – ’

‘That’s what he claimed anyway.’ Selina played with her cup. ‘That’s the state of the freaking world. If an independent and powerful woman wants to have no-strings sex, then people accuse her of using a guy.’

Gary straightened his back and took a deep breath. ‘Well, if you need to –’

‘He knew what was what.’ She took a sip of her coffee. ‘God, you ask a guy about his family shit and he starts thinking that there’s something… I don’t know. I was only being polite. Ya know, polite chit-chat.’

Gary was frowning slightly. ‘You asked him about his family? You’ve never asked…’

‘Huh?’

‘Nothing!’

Selina rested her chin in her hand. ‘There’s something real suspicious about a man over forty who’s never been married. Doncha think?’

Gary smiled weakly. ‘Oh… I don’t know. Maybe women tend to overlook him.’

‘Pfft! Owen fucking Pierce is married _. Roger Furlong_ is married! Look at some of the morons clogging up Congress like an elephant turd in a toilet. Those walking pieces of plankton manage to get married. In D.C. you could put a pig in a suit and tie, spritz it in aftershave, and it’d be fighting off women.’

‘Maybe it took him a long time to find the right person,’ Gary said softly. ‘And when he did she was already with someone else.’

She took a sip of her coffee. ‘That’s a lame excuse. That whole “the one” bullshit has got no business being believed by anyone who’s old enough to wear a bra or shave. Or both. You make the best of what’s available. Sometimes it’s nearly fucking impossible but you put on your big girl panties and you do it. Maybe you get on well but they’ve all the sex appeal of a wet mop. Maybe they’ve got a body you can bounce dimes off, and the sex is great, but they’re fucking thick as pig shit.’ Selina’s voice lowered slightly as she looked down at her cup. ‘Maybe they look good, the sex is great, and you’re just starting to click, when they have a freaking _meltdown_ because you asked if they were sleeping with their ex on the side.’ She folded her arms across her chest. ‘Nope. Anyone over forty who’s never been married has some major freaking damage.’

***

Catherine was barely talking to her. Like Jason was such a big fricking loss. Sometimes that’s what happened. Political fucking expediency had seen off Selina’s lovers before now. Ray had been a moron but the sex had been great. Ted had fallen foul of the whole “I’m-pregnant-we-gotta-get-married” thing. Catherine had to learn to grab her ovaries and woman up.

There was a tap on the door. ‘Mom, it’s Catherine.’

Selina pulled the pillow over her head. She was so fricking _tired_. Tired of being strong. Tired of being the one that everyone turned to. Tired of being so damn responsible for the whole world. Just once she’d like someone else to be responsible. Someone to look after _her_. Was that so much to hope for? Was that such an unfair thing to want?

‘Jesus Christ, Mom!’ Catherine grabbed at the pillow. ‘You don’t have the luxury of hibernating.’ 

 ’Apparently I don’t have the luxury of privacy either,’ Selina snarled, fighting to keep the pillow in place.

‘God!’ Catherine said, suddenly letting go of the pillow, so suddenly that Selina nearly hit herself in the face. ‘Fine, have it your own way.’

And don’t even start her on Gary, who had been completely fricking unbearable since the inquiry. He was always like an overeager puppy but recently he’d been acting like one who’d been kicked. Just pathetic, needy, and desperate. He was a freaking burden in his neediness. Always tugging at her skirts and dragging her back.

She heard his tap at the door.

‘Ma’am?’ he sing-songed. ‘Can I come in?’

‘No!’

‘Um, okay.’

She knew that she’d have to get up _eventually_. She wasn’t a fricking idiot. She knew she couldn’t hide in bed indefinitely. But that was future Selina’s problem. Current Selina wasn’t moving. Current Selina wasn’t dealing with the problems of everyone in the freaking country. She couldn’t even get Bill to fucking shut up his whining about how he was going to prison. Some people were so fucking _selfish._ Selina had her own damn problems. She wasn’t his freaking mother. Just for once, she’d like someone to solve _her_ problems.

There was a tap on the door. A very perfunctory tap that she was pretty sure she recognised. Before she could rouse herself enough to bellow at the insolent tapper, she heard the door pushed open, and then felt the bed dip as someone sat down beside her.

Selina listened and waited for what felt like freaking hours. Then she heard a rustle of paper.

‘Are you reading a _newspaper_?’ she demanded, sitting up.

‘Today has been particularly busy,’ Kent said, as if that explained it.

‘What do you want?’

‘Nothing.’ He snapped the paper and returned his attention to it.

Selina glared at him without response. ‘Why are you in here?’ she demanded.

‘Catherine asked me to.’ He frowned at something in the paper.

‘Why?’

‘She’s young and erroneously imagines that the president has to be physically present in order for the business of government to continue.’ He turned a page. ‘Of course that’s only true on a handful of occasions. Realistically the president is more important as a figurehead and symbol than as a physical presence.’

Selina slapped his shoulder. ‘Shut up!’

He finally looked at her. ‘I’m merely saying that if you need some time to yourself then you should take it.’

‘Really? Because it sounded like you were saying that I’m freaking irrelevant.’

‘Contrary to what you apparently believe; your choices are wider and more nuanced than “be everything to everyone” or “be nothing to anyone.” It’s only a difficult concept if one is a raging egomaniac, which admittedly is not uncommon for politicians.’

Selina elbowed him in the ribs. Kent poked her in the side.

‘Hey!’

‘At the risk of echoing a small child: you started it.’

Selina scowled. ‘‘Don’t call me a freaking egomaniac.’

‘Hmm, would you prefer narcissist, megalomaniac, vainglorious –’

‘Shut the fuck up.’ Selina grumbled. ‘Did you just come in here to insult me?’

Kent shook his head. ‘No, that’s merely a bonus.’

Selina wrapped her arms around her knees. ‘So you’re gonna sit there until I get out of bed?’

‘No, merely until I grow bored. As I said, I’m only here because Catherine asked me to. It’s a matter of supreme irrelevance to me whether or not you get out of bed or not.’

‘Quit trying to use reverse psychology on me.’ Selina pressed her forehead against her knees.

Kent cocked his head. ‘Selina, you are under a huge amount of stress,’ he said quietly. ‘You’ve reached the point of hiding in your bedroom and refusing to leave. Have you considered asking your doctor to increase your medication?’

‘I’m not on fucking medication!’

He raised his eyebrows.

Selina sat back and shifted position uncomfortably. ‘Does everyone know?’ she asked quietly.

‘About the anti-depressants? I don’t believe so. Although it’s hardly uncommon, particularly in this line of work which is not known for attracting the most psychologically healthy individuals.’

‘Ya got that right,’ Selina groaned. She leant her head back against the headboard. ‘How did you know?’

‘Saw them in your bathroom.’ Kent bumped his shoulder against hers. ‘Selina, you’re only human.’

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. ‘I can’t take a break.’

Kent lifted up the corner of the blankets. ‘We could hide under the bedclothes.’

Selina smiled slightly. ‘I could get Gary to fetch a bunch of pillows and we could build a fort.’

He nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘Okay?’

‘Let’s build that fort.’

Selina laughed a little. ‘You probably fricking would too.’

‘I’ve never found the rigid demarcation between children’s and adult’s activities to be entirely helpful,’ Kent said. ‘I’m told that play therapy for adults is gaining in prominence and popularity.’

She gave him a look. ‘I knew you were too quick to play with those freaking Legos.’

‘It’s not a therapeutic technique I’ve attempted,’ he said. He rubbed his palm with his thumb.

Selina nudged him with her shoulder. ‘Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. You haven’t been in therapy.’

He winced slightly. ‘I didn’t say that I had.’

‘Ya pretty much did.’

Kent shrugged. ‘Ascertaining that you require assistance and taking steps to gain it is nothing shameful.’

She shook her head. ‘Sure, sure. So… didya?’

He was looking down at his interlaced fingers. Tapping his thumbs together. ‘I’m not here to talk about me.’

‘Well ya know everything about me.’ Selina played with the edge of his shirt sleeve. ‘Forget it, you don’t have to –’

‘Adolescence is a complex time with a wide array of pressures and stressors even without the added complications of above average intelligence and consequent parental expectations.’

Selina squinted. ‘Your sister, whatsherface, she said your mom rode you real hard.’

That got him to look at her. ‘Devon.’

‘I bet ya skipped grades and everything didn’t ya?’ Selina nudged him again. ‘Didn’t get drunk until you were like… thirty.’

A small smile tugged at his lips. ‘Twenty-three, actually.’

‘Christ! I’d been smoking joints for five years by then.’ She caught his look. ‘Now and then. I wasn’t a stoner.’

He shook his head. ‘Unfortunately I found that it always induced paranoia.’

Selina pouted. ‘Fuck. There goes any chance of seeing you high.’

‘I suspect it would be a disappointment.’

‘So, did it help? The therapy you’re not admitting to having?’

Kent sighed quietly. ‘I haven’t hidden under furniture in nearly forty years. I would have to say on the balance of evidence that it did.’

Hid under the furniture? Jesus. She didn’t even… What the fuck was she supposed to do with that?

‘Christ. You’re literally the last person I’d think would’ve had a breakdown.’

He flinched. ‘I don’t think that those sort of labels are particularly helpful.’

Selina turned and grabbed her coffee from the bedside table. She slurped it and looked at him over the lip of the cup. ‘For saying it’s not shameful you seem kinda ashamed about it.’

He drew his brows together in thought. ‘It’s not something that defines me. It’s not something I’m willing to allow to define me. My self-image allows little room for it. The image I project allows none.’ He looked at her. ‘I’m sure you of all people understand the need to control how we’re perceived.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Sure, which is why I don’t get why you apparently wanna be perceived as a cold-blooded, emotionless asshole who cares more about numbers than people.’

‘There are worse ways to be perceived.’

‘Yeah? Name four.’ 

Kent looked up at the ceiling before ticking them off on his fingers. ‘Weak. Fragile. Unstable. Vulnerable.’

Selina fidgeted with the sheet. ‘Oh. I have no idea what to say to that.’

He shrugged. ‘It’s not necessary to say anything.’ 

‘So what’s your thing? You know, I’m in here hiding. What do you when it’s all just… too fucking much?’

‘Sailing,’ he said. ‘It’s quiet. It’s solitary. It’s relaxing.’

‘God, you and fricking boats,’ Selina said, but gently. ‘Why’d you never join the navy or something?’

Kent raised his eyebrows. ‘Sailors are crammed into ships like sardines, with no privacy, and where every moment is filled with the whirring of machinery and the smell of other people. They don’t even get to enjoy the sea air as they spend most of their time below decks. It would be literally everything I despise with the added irony of being in a location I should enjoy.’

She pushed her hair back out of her eyes. ‘We haven’t really talked much since, you know, that whole thing.’

Kent tapped his feet together. ‘Since you viciously assaulted me with a table lamp?’

‘Shouldn’t have done that,’ Selina said.

‘Well…’

‘It was a _really_ great lamp.’ She shook her head sadly.

‘Evidently you’re feeling better,’ he said dryly.

Selina scratched her forehead. ‘You fricking distracted me from what I was going to say.’

Kent held up his hands in apology. ‘Please go ahead.’

‘Was gonna ask how things are going with your mom.’ She waggled her toes. ‘Is your nephew like… healed up?’

‘Mostly,’ Kent said. ‘My mother is settling in, or so I’m told. We haven’t spoken since she moved into the facility.’

‘What the actual fuck?’ Selina demanded. ‘After all you did for her she’s sulking like a fricking baby?

‘She’s not herself,’ he said quietly. ‘She’s never going to be herself again.’

Selina put her hand over his. After a moment, he returned the pressure.

‘So, how many horny dudes looking for some fun with a voluptuous MILF called your phone?’ she asked.

‘By the time I had the adverts pulled it was a hundred and twelve,’ he said dryly. ‘One of the gentlemen was helpful enough to point me to one of the adverts you so _creatively_ posted.’

Selina snickered quietly. ‘Oh yeah? Did it meet with your approval?’

Kent gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling. ‘I found some of the fine details to be curiously revealing.’

‘Hey, I just copied a bunch of different listings.’

‘To some degree you copied the terminology from other listings,’ he said. ‘But the specifics… no. The particulars of phrasing were unique. I must confess to wondering if that indicated anything as to the reality of the desire.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you accusing me of some pervy shit?’

‘Those are deeply loaded phrases,’ he said. ‘I don’t consider myself so judgmental of other’s sexual desires that I would “accuse” them of anything, least of all perversion.’

‘I forgot you and Gauden were big buddies. I bet he’s told you _all_ kinds of stories about the kinky stuff that goes on in D.C. huh?’ she asked, licking her lips.

Kent raised an eyebrow. ‘There are certainly no shortage of anecdotes to be found. One of the defining characteristics of humanity is the scope and creativity of its sexual interests and rituals.’

‘Wow, ya really know how to make sex sexy doncha?’

A little colour touched his cheeks. Was he… Nah. He couldn’t possibly be blushing. That’d be way too human.

Kent shifted on the bed. ‘I’ve always considered myself to be more cerebral than sensual.’

Selina snorted. ‘You’re a guy. Guys don’t get to be sexy without looking ridiculous. Except George Clooney. God, I’d like to… Shit, I can’t think of a clever pun.’

‘Hmm, operate on him?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Jesus, he left _ER_ in ninety-nine. Don’t you have any more up to date references?’

He shrugged easily. ‘It was the first that came to mind. Puns aren’t precisely my forte.’

‘Sorry,’ she said, a little sheepishly.

‘For what?’

‘Ya know. The craiglist shit,’ Selina said.

Kent regarded her for several long seconds. ‘It was suggested to me that it was, in a somewhat idiosyncratic manner, a sign of emotional engagement.’ His lips quirked. ‘If you were indifferent to me then you wouldn’t have felt the necessity for revenge.’

Selina squared her shoulders. ‘Hey, I’ll have you know that my… pride was hurt. That’s all.’

‘Sure.’

‘It was! Shut the fuck up.’ She squinted at him. ‘Who suggested it? Wait, was it Sue? It was Sue, wasn’t it?’

He cocked his head. ‘Why do you assume it was her?’

‘Because who else would you talk to about this shit? Not to mention I think she’s playing some kinda weird matchmaking game.’ Selina shook her head. ‘She told me why you guys split up. Told me… doesn’t matter. It was fricking weird. I didn’t even know Sue _had_ finer emotional feelings.’

Kent’s sigh was small and soft. ‘Sue is a fiercely independent, aggressively private, and deeply complex woman with her own agenda, plans, and desires.’

‘Hey, we’re _all_ independent, complicated, and passionate women. We get given a life the size of a fricking… _bus_ but we’re only allowed to show a briefcase. Because men cannot deal with women who’re more than pretty playthings.’

‘I doubt that there are many men who would consider you a plaything.’

‘I should fucking hope not.’ Selina turned to look at him. ‘I should get up, huh?’

‘Ma’am, you are the President of the United States. Though the world may be full of people who would attempt to tell you what you should or should not do. I don’t believe that it’s my place to do so.’

‘Seriously though, I should get up.’

Kent shrugged. ‘Do you wish to get up?’

‘Nope.’

‘Then don’t.’

‘But I gotta.’

‘Yes, you do.’

‘Shit.’ Selina pulled back the covers. ‘Can I get a rain check on the fort?’

‘Absolutely.’     

***  

‘I have some St John’s Wort,’ Gary said, waggling a bottle.

‘No,’ Selina said. ‘God no. Not after the last time.’ She squinted at him in the mirror. ‘Christ, first Kent told me to up my meds and now you’re at it with the freaking herbal happy pills.’ She twisted round on her chair. ‘ _Wart_ , Gary! Why would I wanna take something based on some ancient dead guy’s skin problem? Hey, maybe I should take some of St Paul’s freaking boils. How about a nice handful of St Matthew’s hairy back moles?’

Gary squirmed. ‘I don’t think it means that,’ he said. ‘I don’t think warts are spelt the same.’

‘Whoop de fricking do.’

She saw a thought pop up like a lightbulb had appeared over his head.

‘Kent told you to change your prescription? Wow. That is just wrong. Your medical issues are _private_! They’re not a campaign thing! They should be totally off-limits!’

Selina applied her lipstick. ‘It wasn’t an off-limits conversation.’

Gary folded his arms and pursed his lips. ‘I heard he went blundering into your bedroom when you were _indisposed_.’

‘You mean when Catherine asked him to come talk to me?’

‘Oh my God, why would she _do_ that? You hate Kent! He made you play happy families with Andrew!’

She hunted through her earrings. ‘That was years ago. Jesus, Gary, didn’t your parents ever teach you it’s pretty pathetic to hold onto grudge?’

‘Ok…ay,’ he said uncertainly. ‘But we don’t like him. Right?’

‘No, obviously not.’

‘Oh thank goodness,’ Gary breathed.

Selina looked at him in the mirror. ‘Although we actually had a good talk. Cleared the air on some… stuff. Sometimes I could freaking strangle him. But he’s just a guy and he’s been through some shit. He’s _going_ through some shit.’ She shook her head. ‘Me going _Fatal Attraction_ on his ass probably didn’t help.’

Gary was nodding mechanically while the colour drained from his face. ‘I’m sorry, _you_ went _Fatal Attraction_? Why… why would you…’

‘Jesus,’ Selina said. ‘You didn’t know? Seems like every fucker else does, except maybe Mike. Not sure about Tom. Who knows with him.’

Gary swallowed. ‘Kent? He’s… he’s the guy?’

Selina blew out her cheeks. ‘He’s _a_ guy. Don’t be so freaking dramatic. I’ve had guys before. I’m gonna have them again.’

‘But… but you seemed happy. You seemed happy and Kent is an awful, awful person.’

She swivelled around. ‘The sex made me happy. Because the sex was fucking _amazing._ God. I could wax poetic about the sex. I won’t. But I could.’ She wagged her finger at him. ‘That’s what it was. Amazing sex. That’s all it was.’

‘Okay, but, why were you so upset?’ Gary asked. ‘I’ve seen you break up relationships where you care and ones where… well, ones like Ray.’

Selina threw up her hands. ‘It doesn’t matter. Okay? It’s over. He walked.’

Gary gave a slump shouldered shrug. ‘But why did Catherine ask him to talk to you? Why did he do it? Why did it work?’

‘She asked him because he was there. He did it because he’s my freaking campaign manager. It worked because he’s a teeny, tiny bit less annoying than you and Catherine. Which is no goddamn achievement lemme tell you.’

***

Friday night. Selina put her feet up on the desk. Gary had gone home. He’d been real coy. Maybe he had a date. She kinda hoped that he did. Gary needed someone. Sue was in her office still working. Everyone else…

Selina grinned. She stood up, ran her fingers through her hair, and straightened her dress. She padded out of the room.

‘Hey, Sue?’

‘Yes, ma’am?’ she asked, looking up.

‘Wanna help me go give the patriarchy a bloody lip?’

Sue looked blank.

‘It’s Friday night,’ Selina said. ‘Wanna go help me bust up the boys’ club?’

Sue thought about it. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I would.’

***

The look on Ben’s face was priceless. Mike’s greeting was stuttered. Kent and Richard offered up their seats.

Richard and Jonah were invited but not her. Un-fucking-believable.

‘No Bill or Tom?’ Selina asked.

‘Bill’s no fun,’ Ben said. ‘He just whines about how he’s going to prison.’

‘Tom was being interviewed by the Washington Post,’ Kent said.

Richard swirled his drink in his glass. ‘I heard that the civil case against Mr Sykes is going ahead.’

‘Why did you look at me when you said that?’ Jonah demanded.

‘Because you are the face of male on male sexual assault,’ Kent said dryly. ‘Congratulations.’

‘There were a lot of women,’ Richard said. ‘Like… ten women. Maybe more.’

Selina sat back against the couch. ‘Well, sure. Some chief of staff touches up a female staffer and its business as usual. If he touches up a man it’s a different matter.’

‘Touch up a woman and everyone says it’s terrible,’ Jonah said. ‘Touch up a guy and everyone makes jokes.’

‘They’re not making jokes because you’re a man,’ Sue said. ‘They’re making jokes because you’re you.’

Jonah’s gripped tightened on the glass. ‘See how funny you’d find it if someone assaulted you.’

‘If someone assaulted me, they would be in no position to laugh,’ Sue said.

‘Nobody is laughing,’ Kent said to Jonah.

Mike held up his hand. ‘I’m laughing a little bit,’ he said. ‘On the inside, because it’s Jonah.’

‘ _Hilarious_ , Mike.’

Ben scratched his belly. ‘I guess it’s true what they say, there’s no accounting for taste. What about you, Kent? You ever get sexually harassed by your boss? Someone powerful wanna use you as his, or her, sexual plaything?’

Selina gritted her teeth. Ben probably thought he was fucking hysterical.

‘Does the idea excite you?’ Kent asked him caustically.

‘My high school English teacher had a different “favourite” female student each school year,’ Sue said. ‘He was the football coach so people looked the other way.’

‘That’s the man,’ Jonah crowed.

‘They were sixteen or seventeen years old,’ Sue said severely. ‘He’s in prison now.’

Kent crossed his legs at the knee. ‘I’ve never understood the supposed appeal of teenagers.’

‘They’re young, sexy, and they don’t know any better,’ Jonah said with a smirk.

‘Someone slap him,’ Selina said. ‘I can’t reach.’

‘Ow!’ Jonah backed away from Mike.

‘You are the lowest form of life,’ Selina said.

‘Hey man, the president gave an order,’ Mike said to Jonah. ‘What else could I do?’

‘Damn right,’ Selina said. ‘Now I’m ordering someone to top off my drink. Please.’

Ben shook his head. ‘Seventeen. Everyone under the age of twenty is still badly dressed, covered in spots, and dumb as a box of hair.’

‘And the boys do not know how to shave,’ Sue said. ‘Or dress.’

Selina swivelled to face her. ‘Or find a clitoris without a map and a freaking compass, am I right?’

Sue nodded silently.

Jonah laughed, far too much. ‘Can you even imagine that?’

Kent covered his eyes with his hand.

Ben and Mike both started speaking, then stopped. Ben gestured at Mike to go on.

‘Jonah, do you even _know_ what a clitoris is?’ Mike asked. ‘You get that it’s not one of the races in _Lord of the Rings_?’

‘Of course I know that!’ Jonah said. ‘It’s a… little thing. At the top of the… thing.’

‘That’s impressive,’ Ben said, ‘for someone who hasn’t seen a woman naked since his mom stopped breastfeeding him.’

‘Actually only about a quarter of the clitoris is visible to the naked eye,’ Kent said, sipping his drink. ‘The majority is inside the body.’

‘My parents are naturists,’ Richard said helpfully. ‘They find it very freeing.’

Jonah looked at him. ‘You get that you just said that out loud?’

‘It seemed relevant,’ Richard said. ‘Now I think about it I guess it wasn’t.’

Sue was looking at her now empty glass. ‘Given the rest of the conversation I hope not.’

Kent stepped forward to fill her glass.

Ben clucked his tongue. ‘There’s words for people who try to get women drunk.’

‘I call them helpful,’ Sue said.  

‘I wish men would try to get me drunk,’ Mike said. ‘I’d save a fortune.’

Ben adjusted his belt. ‘Didn’t I hear a story about Gauden getting you drunk and feeling you up?’ he said to Kent.

Kent looked like he’d bitten a lemon. ‘It’s hardly uncommon for young men in college to get drunk,’ he said. ‘Or to make inappropriate sexual advances.’

‘I fucking knew he had his beady little eye on your ass!’

Selina sniggered. ‘Hey, be fair. It’s a _really_ nice ass.’

Oh. Shit. Well. Guess that cut a clear line between the knows and the know-nots. Even if it was pretty fricking immediately that only Jonah and Richard were in the dark.

‘Oh,’ Jonah said. ‘Oh, is this… is this gonna be _that_ kind of a party?’

‘I should’ve worn nicer underwear,’ Richard said.

Sue spluttered into her drink.

‘No!’ Selina threw up her hands, splashing Ben with scotch. ‘Definitely _not_ that kinda party. Have a cold shower you two. Preferably not together.’

‘I don’t know about anyone else,’ Ben said winking at Richard, ‘but I’m flattered. What’re you, thirty? Christ, I can’t remember the last time anyone under forty-five didn’t run screaming at the idea.’

‘At least one ex-wife ago,’ Kent said.

‘Says the guy who can’t even manage to get married once,’ Ben retorted.

‘Marriage as a social construct is much more beneficial for men than women,’ Richard said. ‘Both measured as happiness and health.’

Ben pointed at him. ‘Your dirty talk is the worst I’ve ever heard, bar none.’

***

Selina found herself leaving Ben’s office at the same time as Kent. Just a coincidence. That was all. Sue was still there with Ben and Mike. Jonah and Richard had already gone.

‘She gonna be okay?’ Selina asked.

‘Sue can take of herself,’ Kent said wryly.

Selina gave him a sideways glance. ‘You normally get buzzed at these things?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s normally one drink and leave. Tonight was much more fun.’

Selina preened a little. ‘You’re gonna get a cab, right?’

‘Sure, sure.’

Selina caught his tie. ‘I’m not joking. Don’t fuck with me, Davison. You’re getting a cab or you’re staying here.’

‘Selina –’

She plunged her other hand into his pocket and pulled out his keys. ‘You can have these babies back tomorrow.’

Kent scowled. ‘I have no intention of driving while impaired.’

He was standing awful close. She saw him looking at her mouth.

‘Maybe some of your decisions have been kinda erratic recently,’ she said.

‘What decisions would those be?’ he asked quietly.

Jesus, she’d always thought that his eyes were brown but now she could see they were flecked with green as well.

She stepped back and jangled his keys. ‘Tomorrow.’

He grabbed half-heartedly at the keys, looking more at her.

‘Too slow,’ Selina taunted.

She knew she should walk away. She wasn’t drunk. A little relaxed. That was all. She should walk away. She didn’t.

Kent put his hands on his hips. Not as buzzed as she’d thought he was.

He gave a little smile. Boyish. Naughty. Totally incongruous. Ridiculously appealing.

‘I could take them,’ he said.

‘Do it,’ she said sweetly.

He lunged. She retreated. He twisted. She turned. He fell back. She pushed forward.

Kent fell into someone’s office chair, holding her left wrist and her right elbow. He pulled her onto his lap.

‘What’re we doing here?’ he asked quietly.

‘Bringing the office of the president into disrepute.’

Kent glanced around. ‘Or the office of the White House Director of Communications.’

‘He already brought his office into disrepute.’

Selina noticed that he was looking at her mouth again. ‘Are you gonna kiss me or just stare at me all night?’

‘I’m going to kiss you,’ he said.

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

‘You’re a better kisser than I thought you’d be,’ Selina said.

‘Huh.’ Kent raised his eyebrows. ‘A backhanded compliment at this point could be seen as a bold choice.’

‘One I hope that’s gonna work out for me.’ She drummed her fingers on his shoulder. ‘Ya wanna take this up to the residence?’

He hesitated long enough for her hackles to rise.

‘I think it would be best if I got a cab.’

‘What? What the actual fuck?’ Selina demanded, scrambling to her feet. ‘Are you messing with me?’

Kent held up his hands. ‘Nothing could be further from the truth.’

‘You’re all flirty with me, playful, then you kiss me, and when I ask if you wanna go upstairs you wanna go _get a cab_?’ She smacked his shoulder. ‘Is this a fucking game to you?’

‘Selina, I take this extremely seriously,’ he said.

‘Uh oh.’ She folded her arms across her chest. ‘Nothing good starts with you using my actual name.’

Kent put his hands in his lap. Interlaced the fingers. Tapped his thumbs together. ‘I’ve come to the realisation that no-strings sex isn’t for me. I’m certainly not… passing judgement. I’m sure that it suits a great many people. Certainly numerous studies have shown monogamy not to be an evolutionary advantage.’

Selina ground her heel into the carpet. ‘Well three cheers for fucking evolution.’

Kent looked at her. ‘You’re not making this easier.’

‘You think it’s easy for me waiting for you to spit it out? It’s not. So why the fuck should it be easy for you?’

He sighed. ‘Perhaps this conversation would be better undertaken in the morning.’

‘You walk away, buster, and you better keep walking,’ she said poking him in the shoulder.

Kent drew his brows together. ‘You are your own worst enemy.’

Selina huffed out a breath. ‘Tell me something I don’t know.’

‘I don’t want to rush into anything,’ he said.

‘Huh?’

He stood up and rested his hand on the desk. ‘I’m aware that you’ve said you want nothing but meaningless, no-strings, sex. I… I would like something else. I would like for us to...’ His other hand cut shapes in the air as he attempted to describe something he couldn’t quite grasp. ‘I want something else.’

Selina’s hands clenched. ‘Something else?’

‘Something… more. Go slowly. Get to know each other. I’m aware that’s not what you said that you wanted.’

‘Did you bang your head? Do you have a fucking concussion?’

Kent tapped his knuckles on the desk. ‘I’m not suggesting that you make any kind of decision at the moment,’ he said. ‘Merely that you give it some thought.’

 

Give it some thought? Give it some _fucking_ thought? Selina kicked a small table as she walked past. A blue and purple vase wobbled off the table. Selina dove for it, missed, and watched it bounce on the carpet.

Jesus. That was probably all her good luck for the year.

She carefully put the vase on the table and it immediately shattered. Yeah. That figured.

***

‘Boy, you’re in a terrible mood,’ Catherine mumbled.

Selina glowered at her over a cup of coffee. ‘Why’d you send Kent in?’

‘Huh?’

‘The other day when I was… resting. He came in to bug me. He made out that you asked him to,’ Selina said. ‘Why’d you do that?’

Catherine poked at her oatmeal with a spoon. ‘Why does it matter?’

‘Uh, because I’m asking?’

‘I thought it would work and it did.’ She smoothed her hair behind her ear. ‘He ignores so much of your bullshit anyway, what’s a bit more?’

‘My bullshit?’ Selina demanded. ‘ _My_ bullshit? He’s the one who agreed to no-strings. Agreed real quick, I might add, and now he wants “more” and to take things slow. You wanna talk about bullshit, well that’s some right there, missy.’

Catherine raised an eyebrow. ‘Like… he wants to date?’

‘I don’t fucking know. You know Kent: the more he speaks the less he says.’

‘When did this happen?’ Catherine asked.

‘Last night.’ Selina rubbed her forehead. ‘What kinda man turns down sex because he wants to get to know you?’

Catherine frowned slightly. ‘I think Sims, maybe?’

‘What?

‘The little computer game people,’ Catherine said. ‘I think they have to be friends before they’ll have sex together.’

Selina poured herself more coffee. ‘Kent is not a computer game character, Catherine.’ She took a sip. ‘I don’t think. God, it’d make fricking sense though wouldn’t it?’

Catherine eat a spoonful of oatmeal. ‘I think it’s sweet that he wants more.’

‘No it’s not! Offering to build a fort with me was kinda sweet in a weird, Kent sorta way. This is just…weird and creepy and… what’s the word I want?’

‘He wanted to build a fort?’ Catherine asked.

‘Perverse!’ Selina pointed her spoon at Catherine. ‘That’s the word.’

Catherine rolled her eyes. ‘Perverse?’

‘Yeah, ya heard me.’ She furiously stirred sugar into her coffee. ‘We had _so_ much sex, okay? Me on top, him on top, lying down, standing up, on my knees –’

‘Oh my God, Mom, stop!’ Catherine shook her head. ‘I am never going to get those pictures out of my head.’ She grabbed her water bottle and took a gulp. ‘This is so like you. It’s been pretty obvious for ages what’s going on here but you just refuse to see it.’

‘There’s nothing to see.’

‘Sure, Mom. Whatever you say.’

***

 

Selina stared at the papers. How had it come to this? How was it election day already? Weren’t there months more? She should’ve had more time. She deserved that. She barely had a chance to make her mark. If only she’d gotten the bill through…

What did she have to look back on? Data breaches, committee investigations, and some asshole making her a side note in his quest to kill Tom James.

‘You okay?’ Kent asked.

‘Like you give a fuck.’

They hadn’t talked since he turned her down. Not _talked_. Just work stuff. Which was awkward and uncomfortable because the asshole kept acting exactly the fucking same. She at least deserved the dignity of upsetting him.

Oh, _now_ he glanced around, wondering if other people had heard. She shouldn’t have called Karen. She’d only done it because she couldn’t call Amy. It was going wrong. She could feel it. Ben and Kent could feel it too. They were trying not to show it but she knew.

She was gonna lose. First woman president and not only did she get in by default she lost her one and only presidential election.

Kent touched her elbow. ‘Selina -’

‘Do ya really think this is the time for your fucking games?’ he whispered.

He looked like she’d sunk his stupid boat.

‘I have never played games with you,’ he said quietly.

***

Kent pulled on his jacket. ‘I’m going for a walk,’ he announced. ‘Do we need anything?’

‘Booze,’ Ben said.

‘Food,’ Mike said.

‘Air freshener,’ Gary said.

‘A campaign manager who doesn’t suck would be nice,’ Selina said. ‘Can ya pick up one of those?’

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘I’ll look for a better candidate while I’m there.’

As the door swung shut behind Kent, Gary cleared his throat. ‘This is a… super stressful situation,’ he said. ‘We’re all very tense.’

‘So stressed,’ Karen said. ‘Such tension.’

‘Thanks Doge,’ Catherine murmured.

‘I’m gonna lie down,’ Selina said.

Bill lifted his finger. ‘Could I maybe grab two minutes to -’

‘No.’

Ben followed her into the bedroom and shut the door.

‘Oh great,’ Selina said. ‘Ya here to fuck me too? The electorate is having their go, why not your turn?’

He leant back against the door. ‘Grow up.’

Selina blinked. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You heard me. You’re acting like a fucking child.’

‘I have worked too hard –’

‘We’ve all worked hard,’ he said. ‘Jesus, I haven’t spent a weekend at home in months. I haven’t seen my son in six weeks. Everyone has worked hard. Everyone is tired. Everyone is stressed, and pissed, and freaking out that maybe all the long hours and ruined relationships were for nothing. But you are the god damn president. Whether you win or lose, you have to do it with some fucking graciousness.’

Selina clenched her jaw. ‘Hey, I’ve got fucking graciousness coming out of my damn ass. If I put my mind to it, my fucking smile will light up those losers like the sunrise.’

Ben nodded. ‘Yes, Ma’am.’

She stepped out of her shoes. ‘You’re not gonna scream at me for five minutes and then stomp out are ya?’

‘Do an Amy?’ Ben played with his tie. ‘Nah, I’m too old and too tired for that kind of drama. Watch out for Kent though. Piss him off and the first you’ll know about it is when he’s already stuck the knife in your guts.’

Selina winced. ‘We’re kinda on the outs.’

‘Again? Christ. Are you sure you’re not dating?’

Selina rubbed the back of her neck. ‘I think he wants to,’ she said. ‘He says what we’ve been doing doesn’t work for him. Oh, put that face away. I know you’ve had plenty of no-strings sex. Sometimes when you were married.’

Ben squared his shoulders. ‘It was less the no-strings sex than the person having the sex,’ he said. ‘By which I mean Kent. Obviously. Christ, I’d have thought all his sex was cold, emotionless, and meaningless by definition.’

Selina sat down on her bed. ‘That robot joke is really fucking old now.’

‘Yeah, not so accurate I guess,’ Ben said. ‘Whatever the fuck you said to him before, he looked like you punched him in the nutsack.’

She winced. ‘God, don’t. I’m so used to everything sliding off him. The two of you have hides like fucking rhinos.’

‘Hung like ‘em too,’ Ben said.

Selina snorted. ‘Kent for sure.’

Ben shuddered. ‘Just when I was afraid this conversation was gonna stop being terrifying.’ He jerked a thumb towards the door. ‘I, uh, I better…’

‘Yeah, I’m gonna lie down now. Don’t let Bill in, okay?’

Ben put his hand on the door handle. ‘I’ll guard you to the death. His hopefully.’

 

***

There were balloons up in the rafters. She could see them just fucking bobbing around. Must be nice. No responsibilities. No problems.

‘Mom!’ Catherine said urgently.

‘Huh?’

Catherine waved a hand at the senior staff milling around.

Right. Right. Be fucking _gracious_.

Ben and Kent hoisted her up onto a step and she cleared her throat. ‘Okay, guys, this isn’t the result we wanted but it’s the result we got. So go home, get shitfaced, get laid, do whatever it is you gotta do. We’ll start early tomorrow to win this fucker.’

As the dispirited senior staff began to wander away she turned to Ben. ‘Gracious enough for ya?’

‘Oh yes, Ma’am,’ Ben said. ‘Very inspiring.’

‘It’s was the St Crispin’s speech revisited,’ Kent said.

Selina gestured for them to help her down. ‘Didn’t those fuckers all die?’

‘No.’

Ben ran his fingers through his hair. ‘If you don’t mind, Ma’am, I’m gonna go home and uh, get shitfaced, get laid, and do whatever it is I gotta do.’

‘Yeah you should –’ Selina blinked as he turned and walked away. ‘Geez, what’s up his butt?’

Kent was already moving away.

‘Hey!’ Selina grabbed his sleeve. ‘I’m talking to you.’

He tucked his phone in his jacket pocket. ‘Ma’am?’

‘Can we talk?’ she asked. ‘There’s gotta be one of these rooms we can use.’

He glanced at his watch. ‘Sure.’

 

They found a room with the remnants of a buffet and a few bottles of partially emptied cheap wine. Selina picked one up and sniffed it. ‘If we’re supplying booze it should be better than this.’

‘I suspect we didn’t supply it,’ Kent said.

Selina found two plastic tumblers, poured wine into them, and sat down on a rickety canvas chair by the table. ‘C’mere, sit down.’

She heard him sigh but ignored it. She took a sip of the nasty ass wine as Kent sat down.

He took the glass of wine that she held out, looked at it blankly, and put it on the table. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and held it out.

‘What the fuck is this, an invitation to your birthday party?’

He grunted. ‘Sure. The theme is cowboys. I’m gonna have a rifle range and miniature horses.’

Selina snickered as she opened the envelope. ‘That sounds pretty fun actua… Oh, _fuck you_ , Kent!’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Fuck you.’ She shoved the letter back in the envelope. ‘I don’t accept. How long have you been walking around with a fucking resignation letter in your pocket?’

Kent played with his tumbler. ‘We knew the election was going to be close. Failure was possible. That being the case I anticipated that you would protect your ego by refusing all responsibility and blaming the loss on me. Given the likelihood of your demanding my resignation I thought it better to be prepared.’

Selina shook her head as she took a swig of the wine. ‘Kinda salty when you’re trying to cut and run, aren’t ya?’

‘Merely honest.’

‘First time for everything.’ She rammed the letter in her pocket. ‘I’m keeping in case I need this sometime.’

‘It’s dated,’ Kent said.

‘Shit.’

He shrugged. ‘Keep it for tomorrow when you inevitably change your mind.’

Selina kicked his ankle. ‘You trying to annoy me into accepting this, you dick?’

He swirled the wine around in the tumbler. ‘Neither my energy levels nor my personal contentment are optimal.’

‘You’re tired and cranky, boo hoo. How’d you think I feel? Today has been a shit sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.’

‘Extraordinary,’ he said, taking a sip and wincing at the taste.

‘What’s that?’

‘You,’ he said. ‘I’ve never met anyone so unremittingly self-absorbed, and I’ve worked in academia.’ 

‘Do I have a “kick me” sign on my back? Jesus. First Ben reads me the riot act, then Amy, and now you.’

Kent tapped his thumb on the table. ‘It was good to see her.’

‘Yeah.’

‘She’s a valuable resource if she can persuaded to remain.’

Selina winced at the taste of her wine ‘Geez, try not to gush.’

Kent scratched his eyebrow. ‘What did Ben say?’

Selina shrugged. ‘That I was being childish and needed to be “gracious” to you fucking losers.’

‘By thanking everyone apart from us?’ Kent asked.

‘Huh?’

Kent looked her in the eye. ‘You didn’t thank anyone in the senior staff.’

Selina poured more wine. ‘Sure I did.’

‘No. You didn’t. Not Ben. Not Mike. Not even Gary.’

She pulled a face. ‘Not that I’d have thanked you anyway.’

She expected it to slide right off. It didn’t. He gave her a pinched look.

‘Do you have even the smallest scrap of affection for me?’ he asked. ‘Anything at all?’

Selina leant back. ‘I…What? What the…What the fuck…What the fuck kind of question is that?’

‘Perhaps I should go.’

Selina gulped her wine. ‘You have a goddamn nerve, mister. You call me selfish and… after you bozos got me a _fucking_ tie you complain I didn’t thank you! And then you expect me to… what? You want me to make a big weepy speech about my _feelings_? If I’m such a fucking awful person would you give a shit if I like you or not?’

Kent clenched his jaw. ‘A dog doesn’t care if you’re a martyr or a monster as long as you’re good to the dog.’

Selina gripped her tumbler. ‘You my dog now, Kent? Because I think Gary would fight you for the spot.’

He stood up. ‘I’m going home.’

‘Don’t.’

‘Why?’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t make me say it.’

Kent looked at her in confusion.

‘Jesus,’ she grumbled. ‘I don’t… not have affection for you.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘You know what it fucking means.’ She crossed her arms tightly. ‘I didn’t ask you to talk so you could resign.’

He licked his lips. ‘Then why?’

‘Because… I’ve been thinking. About what you said.’ She groaned at his blank expression. ‘You said you wanted me to think about… more. Which was a fucking liberty when I was totally clear on what I wanted.

‘At first,’ he said. ‘Then you changed your mind,’ he said.

‘I did not!’

Kent raised an eyebrow. ‘You were jealous.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘I fucking wasn’t.’

His hand chopped through the air. ‘Possessive, then, whatever terminology you prefer.’

Catherine. God damn Catherine had been sticking her oar in, Selina _knew_ it.

‘Will you just shut up and let me say my piece?’ She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. ‘I thought about it. It’s a fucking terrible idea. You gotta know that. I’m your boss. We’re in the middle of a tied election. We have pretty much nothing in common. We couldn’t be more different.’

Kent had his hands tucked into his armpits and he was looking down at the carpet. She couldn’t see much of his face apart from the slight pink caste. When she stopped talking he nodded, once.

‘Right,’ he said grimly. ‘That you for thinking about it.’

‘I didn’t say _no._ ’

His head came up. His eyes were narrowed. Reflecting a little too much light. Shiny, even. He wasn’t… nah. He couldn’t be.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘I didn’t say no. I said it was a terrible idea. Which it is.’ Selina shrugged. ‘When’s that ever stopped us from doing something?’

Kent shook his head. ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.’

Selina threw up her hands. ‘You are _ruining_ the moment, do ya understand _that_?’

When he eventually spoke, his voice was quiet and uncertain. ‘Are we having a moment?’

‘Yeah, we are having a fucking moment, so stop fucking interrupting.’

He sat down and turned to face her.

Selina crossed her legs. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Do you like bowling?’

‘Bowling?’

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Ya throw a heavy ball at some wooden pin things. Bowling. Do you do it?’

Kent stared at her in baffled silence for a few seconds. ‘I… sure. I haven’t done it in a fairly substantial amount of time.’

‘I have a bowling alley,’ Selina said. ‘For now, anyway. Didya know that?’

Kent nodded. ‘I did.’

‘You ever been?’

‘To the bowling alley?’

‘Yeah.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘President Hughes preferred racquetball.’

Selina winced. ‘That great warthog running around in shorts is an image I won’t shift easily.’ She tapped her fingers on the table. ‘So, bowling. You wanna?’

Kent blinked at her. ‘Do I want to go bowling?’

‘You’re not real good at subtext, are ya?’

‘It would appear not.’

‘It’s not like I can ask you to the fucking movies,’ she said. ‘Being the president kinda makes it hard to go on discreet dates to clubs or restaurants. I can’t even ask you to any state shit because you’d be there anyway.’

His shoulders relaxed a little. ‘You’re asking me out?’

Selina waved her hand. ‘Out is more of a concept but yeah. I’m asking you out.’

‘On a… date?’

‘Holy fuck! Yes on a date. For a smart guy you can be a dumb fuck.’

Kent was trying not to smile. ‘I merely wish to be sure I’ve not misunderstood.’

‘You haven’t.’ She drained her wine. ‘Let’s go bowling. As a date. Get to know each other. All that shit.’

‘I’d like that.’

Selina stood up. ‘But we gotta be discreet. I can’t have it getting out that I’m seeing my campaign manager/senior strategist.’

Kent nodded. ‘It would look as if I had too much influence.’

‘No power behind the throne bullshit.’

‘Do you intend to have a throne, Ma’am?’ he asked mildly.

‘Shut up.’

Kent smiled as he stood up. A pretty nice smile. She’d have figured a genuine smile would’ve sat on his face like a strawberry in a salad, but it was just a nice smile.

‘Okay, so, good,’ Selina said, letting out a breath. ‘Whew. So, I’m gonna go catch some sleep.’

‘A wise decision.’

She looked at for a couple of seconds, and then went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. After a heartbeat, his hand came to rest in the small of her back.

‘And don’t go thinking I’m the sorta girl who puts out on a first date,’ she said, poking him in the chest.

‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said quietly.

‘You want me, Mister, you work for me.’ Selina spun on her heel and marched away.

The day hadn’t been totally shit, after all.

 

The End

 

 

  

 

 


End file.
